PlijHJUtCtti 


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THE  TOWN 

AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

BY 

H.  "N.  MORSE  ami  EDMUND  deS.  BRUNNER 


Iffill  Uj  IdH 


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V 


JAN  14  1924 


106ICAL  Sf.''<\V 


BR  525  . M6  1923 
Morse,  Hermann  Nelson,  1887- 
;..The  town  and  country 
church  in  the  United  States 


J 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological,  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/thetowncountrychOOmors 


THE  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


The  C ommittee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys 
was  organised  in  January y  1921.  It  conducts  and 
'publishes  studies  and  surveys  and  promotes  confer¬ 
ences  for  their  consideration .  The  Committee] s  aim 
is  to  combine  the  scientific  method  with  the  religious 
motive.  It  cooperates  with  other  social  and  religious 
agencieSy  but  is  itself  an  independent  or  gemination. 

The  Committee  is  composed  of:  John  R.  Motty 
Chairman ;  Ernest  D.  Burton y  Secretary ;  Ray¬ 
mond  B.  Fosdicky  Treasurer ;  James  L.  Barton y 
IV.  H.  P.  Faunce  and  Kenyon-  L.  Butterfield. 
Galen  M.  Fisher  is  Executive  Secretary.  The  offices 
are  at  370  Seventh  Avenuey  New  York  City . 


COMMITTEE  ON  SOCIAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  SURVEYS 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  STUDIES 

Edmund  deS.  Brunner,  Director 


0F  MUG?/ 


v 


JAN  i 4  1924 


THE  TOWN 
AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


^eicAi 


AS  ILLUSTRATED  BY 

DATA  FROM  ONE  HUNDRED  SEVENTY-NINE  COUN¬ 
TIES  AND  BY  INTENSIVE  STUDIES  OF  TWENTY-FIVE  ' 


BY 

H.  N.  MORSE 


and 


1/ 


EDMUND  deS.  BRUNNER 


NEW 


YORK 


GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1923, 

BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


FOREWORD 


By  Charles  J.  Galpin 

IN  CHARGE  OF  DIVISION  OF  FARM  POPULATION 
AND  RURAL  LIFE,  U.  S.  DEPT.  OF  AGRICULTURE 

The  problem  of  the  rural  church  will  never  again  utterly  baffle 
the  mind  and  bewilder  the  soul  of  America  with  vastness  and  con¬ 
fusion.  This  courageous  survey — this  patient  climb  to  the  top  of 
the  mountain,  this  sweep  of  the  comprehending  eye  over  all  the 
regions,  over  all  the  counties — has  reduced  the  vastness  of  the 
rural  church  problem  to  some  order  and  the  confusion  to  some 
clarity.  Attempts,  henceforth,  to  understand  the  church  of  the 
farmer,  of  the  villager,  and  of  the  small-town  dweller  will  start 
from  the  mountain  and  never  again  from  the  valleys. 

This  means,  of  course,  that  a  strong  new  light  and  a  brave  new 
hope  will  envisage  future  church  planning  in  rural  America.  No 
wonder  fog  and  darkness  and  the  psychology  of  pessimism  covered 
the  rural  church  so  long  as  no  one  had  the  heart,  or  would  take  the 
pains,  to  view  the  rural  situation  as  a  whole  in  all  America. 

This  feat  in  surveys — I  frankly  discount  the  aspect  of  so-called 
failure  in  the  Interchurch  Rural  Survey  enterprise — in  my  esti¬ 
mation,  set  the  religious  soul  of  rural  America  free  from  both 
ecclesiastical  provincialism  and  statistical  timidity.  America  now 
can  bend  its  energies  to  the  task  of  building  up  noble  rural  churches 
— churches  nobly  planned  so  as  to  reach  even  every  last  rural  family 
on  the  land. 

Not  that  the  details  are  worked  out.  Not  that  every  church  body 
knows  now  what  its  logical  program  is.  But  rather  that  a  level  of 
thinking  is  established  by  the  survey,  on  which  vital  ethical,  social 
and  religious  issues  will  become  clearer  and  clearer;  and  deadly 
ambiguities  become  fewer  and  fewer.  And  when  an  issue  of  this 
sort  once  does  unmistakably  appear  in  outline  and  character — that, 
for  example,  the  farm  family  and  farm  community  this  way  de¬ 
clines,  and  that  other  way  flourishes — then  we  trust  and  we  must 
trust  the  soul  of  ecclesiastical  America  to  act  and  to  act  with 


FOREWORD 


spiritual  justice.  It  is  unthinkable  that  Christian  America  can  do 
otherwise. 

It  was  a  great  thought  to  survey  the  rural  churches  of  America 
in  their  all-human  settings.  It  was  a  tremendous  achievement  to 
dispel  the  ignorance  of  the  intellectuals  whose  learning  was  confined 
to  small  segments  of  the  problem  and  whose  clouds  of  confusion 
were  vast.  It  was  a  fine,  discerning  thought  to  come  to  the  rescue 
of  the  remnants  of  that  original  survey,  when  human  nature  had 
cracked  under  the  strain  of  the  immense  task.  That  it  is  a  provi¬ 
dence  in  the  plan  of  God,  I  have  personally  no  doubt.  And  I 
further  believe  that  Christian  statesmen  will  arise  to  think  out  the 
problems  from  this  high  level  till  rural  America  has  its  noble 
churches  and  the  land- worker  suffers  no  injustice  from  the  hands 
of  churchmen. 


vi 


INTRODUCTION 


THIS  volume  contains  results  of  the  Town  and  Country  Sur¬ 
vey  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  so  far  as  those 
results  are  available.  They  were  salvaged  by  the  Commit¬ 
tee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys.  In  presenting  the  final  sum¬ 
mary  of  the  salvaged  results,  it  will  be  useful  to  indicate  the  scope, 
limitations  and  organization  of  the  Interchurch  surveys,  and  to 
appraise  their  dependability. 

The  Town  and  Country  Survey  of  the  Interchurch  World  Move¬ 
ment  was  organized  and  under  way  in  every  state  of  the  Union 
before  the  Movement  was  six  months  old.  In  each  state  it  was 
under  the  charge  of  a  paid,  full-time  executive  known  as  a  survey 
supervisor.  About  three-fourths  of  these  supervisors  were  clergy¬ 
men,  all  of  whom  had  been  country  ministers  at  one  time  or  an¬ 
other.  Some  of  them  had  been  administering  rural  work  up  to 
the  time  of  being  called  into  the  Movement;  and  others  had  left 
the  active  pastorate  for  the  teaching  profession.  The  rest  of  the 
supervisors  were  laymen  who  were,  almost  without  exception,  pro¬ 
fessors  of  rural  sociology  or  economics  at  educational  institutions, 
most  of  those  institutions  being  state  universities.  With  this  per¬ 
sonnel,  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  a  fair  degree  of  dependability  in 
the  data  gathered. 

The  first  task  of  each  supervisor  was  to  organize  his  state.  In 
each  county  he  had  a  county  survey  supervisor  with  whom  was 
associated,  if  possible,  one  assistant  for  each  denomination  at  work 
within  the  county.  These  county  supervisors  and  their  assistants 
were  very  often  younger  ministers  who  had  had  training  in  soci¬ 
ology  while  in  college  or  seminary.  More  than  a  thousand,  how¬ 
ever,  of  the  nearly  eight  thousand  persons  who  gave  of  their  time 
to  this  enterprise  were  laymen  or  women.  Many  of  them  were 
school  teachers,  college  instructors,  or  professors;  and  still  more 
were  students  who  undertook  the  survey  work  for  academic  credits 
in  connection  with  courses  in  sociology. 

Each  county  survey  team  was  responsible  for  securing  the  de¬ 
sired  community  and  church  data.  All  were  trained  for  this  work 

by  the  state  supervisors.  As  a  rule  they  received  no  compensation, 

•  • 

Vll 


INTRODUCTION 


but  their  expenses  were  paid.  In  all  states,  however,  the  state 
survey  supervisor  shared  in  the  field  work  of  the  survey  and  nearly 
10  per  cent,  of  the  counties  were  studied  by  paid  investigators.  At 
the  time  of  the  collapse  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  the 
survey  was  organized  in  more  than  2,400  of  America’s  3,000  coun¬ 
ties,  and  from  a  little  more  than  1,000  of  these  counties  results  of 
some  value  were  forwarded  to  headquarters.  It  was  found  that 
622  counties  had  been  completely  covered.  These  results  represent 
the  largest  body  of  information  on  rural  life  ever  gathered,  with 
the  exception  of  the  material  in  the  U.  S.  Census,  and  they  are 
reasonably  accurate. 

Information  available  in  denominational  yearbooks,  annual  re¬ 
ports  of  county  Sunday  school  associations  and  other  such  agencies 
made  it  possible  for  the  state  supervisors  to  tell  definitely  when  a 
survey  team  had  covered  every  church  in  the  county.  By  the  use 
of  the  county  maps  it  was  also  possible  to  discover  whether  every 
community  had  been  covered.  State  supervisors  first  received  each 
completed  county  survey,  gave  it  its  first  check  and  sometimes  re¬ 
turned  it  to  the  field  for  additional  information.  When  received 
at  the  national  headquarters  the  county  results  were  again  checked 
and  rechecked  and  at  times  returned  for  still  further  information. 

It  is,  therefore,  fair  to  state  that  this  information  is  much  more 
reliable  than  that  contained  in  the  Federal  Religious  Census.  The 
Federal  census  reports  only  the  information  returned  to  it  on  mailed 
questionnaires  which  it  sends  out  to  the  churches.  The  Interchurch 
World  Movement  sent  its  survey  supervisors  to  the  churches  and 
checked  their  results  from  all  available  denominational  sources. 

When  the  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys  took  over 
this  extensive  but  incomplete  material,  it  found  available,  in  com¬ 
pletely  tabulated  form,  the  data  concerning  161  counties.  Partial 
tabulations  were  at  once  made  for  a  sufficient  number  of  other  coun¬ 
ties  to  bring  the  total  up  to  300,  the  additional  counties  being 
selected  from  the  point  of  view  both  of  their  country-wide  dis¬ 
tribution  and  of  the  degree  of  perfection  of  the  data. 

On  the  basis  of  the  data  of  these  300  counties,  twenty-six  were 
selected  for  intensive  field  survey  and  follow-up.  These  twenty-six 
represented  each  of  the  principal  regions  in  the  United  States. 
They  were  also  selected  to  show  as  nearly  as  possible  the  average 
condition  existing  in  each  region,  not  only  the  data  of  the  300 
counties  being  taken  into  account  but  also  the  judgment  of  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  state  colleges  of  agriculture,  state  boards  of  education 
and  other  such  agencies.  It  can  be  claimed,  therefore,  that  each  of 


Vlll 


INTRODUCTION 


these  counties  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  region  in  which  it  lies.  The 
previous  volumes  in  this  series,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  three, 
dealt  with  these  regional  results.  The  first  three  were  designed  to 
indicate  the  general  method  of  survey  as  applied  to  three  different 
situations  in  the  East,  Middle  West  and  Far  West  respectively. 
The  resurvey  of  the  twenty-six  counties  attested  to  the  general 
average  dependability  of  the  Interchurch  survey  results. 

With  a  few  exceptions,  no  incorporated  places  of  more  than 
5,000  population  were  covered  by  the  Town  and  Country  Survey, 
except  in  their  rural  relationships.  The  exceptional  places,  which 
were  fully  covered  by  the  survey,  were  cities,  with  populations  of 
from  slightly  more  than  5,000  to  about  15,000,  which  were  unde¬ 
niably  service  stations  for  surrounding  agricultural  regions.  The 
industries  in  each  of  these  were  dependent  entirely  on  crops  raised 
in  the  region. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  volume,  the  data  used  have  mainly 
been  drawn  from  two  sources.  An  exhaustive  and  detailed  analysis 
was  made  of  the  material  concerning  twenty-five  of  the  twenty-six 
counties  which  were  intensively  surveyed.  (One  was  omitted  be¬ 
cause  the  field  work  was  completed  too  late  for  use  in  this  connec¬ 
tion.)  To  these  twenty-five  were  then  added  154  more,  making 
179  in  all.  The  selection  of  the  154  was  made  on  the  basis  of  their 
representative  character,  geographical  distribution  and  the  reliability 
of  their  data.  For  these  counties  a  searching  analysis  was  made  of 
the  facts  of  major  importance.  Underlying  these  discussions  there 
are  therefore,  first,  twenty-five  counties  and  second,  179  counties 
among  which  the  twenty-five  are  included.  For  some  particular 
items,  a  different  and  larger  number  of  counties  has  been  used,  this 
fact  being  in  each  instance  noted  in  the  text.  Throughout,  the  con¬ 
trolling  purpose  has  been  to  base  all  conclusions  on  the  largest  body 
of  reliable  data  which  could  be  secured.  The  inclusion  or  elimina¬ 
tion  of  counties  in  any  particular  discussion  has  been  solely  to 
advance  this  purpose. 


POINT  OF  VIEW 

The  studies  which  this  book  summarizes  have  been  undertaken 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Church,  with  due  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  social  and  economic  conditions  affect  church  life.  Hav¬ 
ing  originated  as  a  frank  attempt  to  salvage  the  survey  results  of 
the  Interchurch  World  Movement,  this  study  has  been  limited  in 
its  scope  by  the  objectives  and  schedules  of  that  Movement,  the 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 


purpose  of  which  was  to  present,  in  terms  of  time,  men,  and  money 
the  needs  of  the  country  church.  It  approached  its  work  on  the 
county  basis  and  within  the  county  on  a  community  basis.  Within 
each  community  it  studied  every  church.  Some  of  the  facts  gath¬ 
ered  may  appear  irrelevant,  but  upon  closer  observation  they  will 
be  found  to  have  a  bearing  upon  the  main  theme — the  problem  of 
the  Church  in  its  ministry  as  an  organization  to  its  local  con¬ 
stituency. 

The  greatest  amount  of  time  and  study  has  been  devoted  to  the 
churches  themselves.  Their  history,  equipment  and  finances ;  their 
members,  services,  and  church  organizations;  their  Sunday  schools, 
young  people’s  societies  and  community  programs,  have  all  been 
carefully  investigated  and  evaluated. 

The  purpose  of  these  surveys  has  been  distinctly  practical.  It 
has  been  hoped  that  the  recommendations  made  would  be  of  use 
within  each  county  and  within  the  region  of  which  each  county  was 
typical.  This  hope  has  been  justified  to  an  encouraging  degree 
within  the  counties.  The  results  of  the  surveys  have  been  pre¬ 
sented  to  the  people  in  no  fewer  than  ten  counties,  through  public 
meetings  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Utiliz¬ 
ing  Surveys,  which  is  described  later  in  this  preface.  As  a  result  of 
conferences  in  these  counties,  to  which  were  invited  delegates  from 
every  church  as  well  as  the  responsible  administrative  officers,  cer¬ 
tain  definite  things  have  been  accomplished.  One  county  has  been 
allocated  exclusively  to  one  denomination,  which  has  adopted  the 
entire  program  suggested  for  that  county.  It  is  increasing  its  per¬ 
sonnel,  building  a  new  church,  and  opening  Sunday  schools  and 
preaching  points  in  communities  and  neighborhoods  that  were  found 
to  be  neglected.  In  another  county,  teams  have  been  organized  to  go 
out  from  the  more  populous  centers  and  hold  services  in  communi¬ 
ties  that  were  churchless.  In  cooperation  with  the  State  Sunday 
School  Association,  a  house-to-house  religious  census  was  un¬ 
dertaken  to  locate  definitely  the  unchurched  families  of  newcomers. 
In  the  same  county  the  people  assembled  at  a  conference  adopted 
a  resolution  calling  upon  the  denominational  overhead  officers  to 
desist  from  “dissipating  the  Lord’s  money  in  certain  overchurched 
communities.” 

In  still  another  county  several  meetings  have  been  held,  with 
the  cooperation  of  the  State  Federation  of  Churches,  looking  toward 
the  establishment  of  the  County  Council  of  Churches. 

As  a  result  of  the  survey  an  effective  piece  of  cooperation  was 
worked  out  in  one  state  between  the  state  college  of  agriculture,  the 


INTRODUCTION 


state  board  of  education,  the  state  chamber  of  commerce  and  the 
state  Federation  of  Churches.  All  of  these  organizations  united 
in  a  campaign  for  better  rural  life.  Two-day  meetings  were  held 
in  various  counties  throughout  the  state  at  which  not  only  were 
survey  results  presented  but  the  various  officials  of  these  organiza¬ 
tions  spoke  and  gave  suggestions  for  rural  progress. 

In  a  regional  way  the  most  immediate  response  has  come  from 
the  Range  and  the  Pacific  Coast.  Follow-up  meetings  were  held  in 
more  counties  in  these  regions  than  in  any  others  and,  quite  apart 
from  the  local  results  of  these  surveys,  the  various  denominational 
home  mission  boards,  cooperating  with  the  Home  Missions  Council, 
have  visited  four  states  in  this  area  in  an  every-community-service- 
endeavor.  This  enterprise  allocated  to  some  one  denomination  all 
of  the  untouched  territory  within  these  states  and  approached  in 
a  cooperative  way  the  problems  of  relationships  where  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  work  these  out. 

Quite  apart  from  the  immediate  practical  results  of  these  studies, 
they  have  other  values.  The  survey  method  used  by  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement  represented  the  best  thought  of  the  Church  execu¬ 
tives  as  to  what  they  needed  to  know  about  the  rural  church.  This 
volume  summarizes  the  results  of  this  self-examination.  An  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  results  will  reveal  certain  obvious  limitations  in 
the  data.  Fact  after  fact  only  furnishes  the  starting  point  for  new 
investigation.  For  example,  it  is  shown  that  per  capita  contribu¬ 
tions  vary  as  between  regions,  but  the  economic  resources  of  each 
county  or  region  are  not  appraised,  so  that  the  question  as  to  which 
region  gives  relatively  the  largest  contributions  cannot  be  answered. 
It  is  also  stated  that  there  is  a  high  mortality  among  small  churches ; 
there  is  also  high  devotion  of  members  to  those  which  survive. 
What  elements  insure  the  successful  survival  of  a  small  church? 
The  present  study  stops  with  facts  since  it  lacks  the  data  to  answer 
the  question.  Some  further  studies  along  lines  such  as  these  are 
being  prosecuted  by  the  Committee.  It  is  attempting  to  find  out 
some  of  the  factors  which  make  for  church  efficiency.  It  is  hoped 
that  this  volume  and  the  one  to  which  allusion  has  just  been  made 
will  show  many  other  problems  for  which  a  solution,  together  with 
its  explanation,  should  be  found. 

Valuable  help  was  given  by  the  Home  Missions  Council;  by 
the  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions  through  their  Sub¬ 
committee  on  Town  and  Country,  and  by  a  committee  appointed 
jointly  by  the  Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Federal  Council 
of  Churches  for  the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  the  Committee  on 


xi 


INTRODUCTION 


Social  and  Religious  Surveys  in  endeavoring  to  translate  the  results 
of  the  survey  into  action.  The  members  of  this  Joint  Committee 
on  Utilizing  Surveys  are: 


JOINT  COMMITTEE  ON  UTILIZING  SURVEYS 


( Federal  Council ,  Home  Missions  Council,  and  the  Council  of 

Women  for  Home  Missions) 

Rev.  L.  C.  Barnes,  Chairman 
Rev.  Rodney  W.  Roundy,  Secretary 


Alfred  W.  Anthony 
Mrs.  Fred  S.  Bennett 
Anna  Clark 
A.  E.  Cory 
David  D.  Forsyth 
Roy  B.  Guild 
Rolvix  Harlan 
Arthur  E.  Holt 
R.  A.  Hutchison 
F.  Ernest  Johnson 


Charles  A.  Brooks 
Charles  E.  Burton 
Charles  N.  Lathrop 
U.  L.  Mackey 
Florence  R.  Quinlan 
Albert  E.  Roberts 
Charles  E.  Schaeffer 
William  P.  Shriver 
Fred  B.  Smith 
Paul  L.  Vogt 


Warren  H.  Wilson 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword  by  Charles  J.  Galpin . v 

Introduction . vii 

CHAPTER 

I  Regional  Characteristics . 17 

II  Some  National  Deductions . 37 

III  The  General  Status  of  the  Church  Enterprise  .  44 

IV  The  Inter-Relations  of  Town,  Village,  Hamlet 

and  Open  Country . 75 

V  Church  Growth  and  Decline . 94 

VI  Home  Mission  Aid  as  a  Factor  in  Rural  Church 

Development . 106 

VII  Religious  Education  in  the  Rural  Church  School  123 

VIII  Equipment  and  Finance . 137 

IX  The  Rural  Church  and  Racial  Groups  .  .  .  148 

X  Tenant  and  Migrant . 156 

XI  The  Rural  Church  Program . 160 

Index  . . 173 


•  •  • 
Xlll 


THE  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


THE  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


CHAPTER  I 


Regional  Characteristics 


TOWN  and  country  surveys  of  the  Interchurch  World  Move¬ 
ment,  and  those  of  the  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious 
Surveys,  made  use  of  an  initial  division  of  the  country  into 
regions,  each  having  characteristics  so  different  from  those  of  the 
other  regions  as  to  give  a  degree  of  individuality  to  its  social  and 
religious  problems.  This  regional  division  was  based  largely  on  a 
statement  prepared  by  Dr.  Warren  H.  Wilson,  of  Columbia  Uni¬ 
versity,  and  published  originally  in  Homelands,  in  August,  1920. 
It  was  used  in  the  conviction  that  the  religious  or  social  worker 
must  necessarily  be  concerned  with  the  economic  and  social  char¬ 
acteristics  of  the  region  in  which  he  works.  Those  characteristics 
deeply  affect,  if  they  do  not  create,  his  particular  problems ;  they 
have  a  certain  determining  influence  on  the  methods  which  he  must 
use,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  determine  his  objectives.  The 
factors  which  underlie  the  major  variations  between  region  and 
region  are  chiefly  of  three  kinds.  First  and  most  fundamental  are 
the  physical  factors :  topography,  climate,  soil,  and  natural  resources. 
Second,  are  the  economic  factors  closely  related  to  the  physical :  the 
existing  type  of  economic  activity,  both  agricultural  and  industrial, 
and  the  general  economic  trend.  Third,  are  the  historical  and  social, 
or,  in  Dr.  Wilson’s  phraseology,  the  “Episodic”  factors:  those 
episodes  in  the  life  of  a  region  which  have  given  it  its  social  char¬ 
acter.  Some  of  these  are  political,  some  religious,  some  racial. 
They  must  be  known  if  a  region  is  to  be  understood. 

The  map  found  on  page  19  of  this  volume  shows  the  regional 
outline  which  was  used  for  survey  purposes.  It  must  be  under¬ 
stood,  as  Dr.  Wilson  states,  that  not  all  of  the  boundary  lines  of 
these  regions  are  sharply  defined.  Often  a  whole  state  or  a  part 
of  a  state  could  have  been  put  in  an  area  other  than  the  one  in 

17 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


which  it  was  placed.  In  the  discussion  of  the  separate  regions 
reference  will  be  made  to  cases  to  which  this  statement  applies. 

The  material  in  the  present  chapter  relates  to  the  more  general 
aspects  of  the  social  and  economic  situation.  Each  chapter  of  this 
volume  makes  regional  comparisons  of  material  relating  to  the  par¬ 
ticular  subject  with  which  it  deals.  Such  comparisons  are  not  an¬ 
ticipated  here,  where  the  purpose  is  merely  to  give  the  background 
against  which  those  detailed  comparisons  may  be  read. 

The  following  nine  regions  were  used  in  the  original  classifica¬ 
tion  : 

Colonial  Region.  This  includes  New  England,  New  York,  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  and  New  Jersey.  Because  of  certain  characteristics  in 
common,  parts  of  West  Virginia  belong  with  Western  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  and  parts  of  Maryland,  which  are  much  like  Eastern  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  should  perhaps  have  been  included  here. 

Middle  West  Region.  This  consists  of  the  states  of  Ohio,  In¬ 
diana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin. 

Southern  Region.  This  takes  in  the  states  south  of  Mason  and 
Dixon’s  Line  and  the  Ohio  River  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
includes  Louisiana.  It  does  not  include  the  Southern  Mountain 
Region,  description  of  which  follows. 

Southern  Mountain  Region.  Included  in  this  division  are  about 
250  counties  in  parts  of  the  nine  Southern  states  of  the  Appalachian 
area. 

Northwestern  Region.  This  comprises  Minnesota  and  North 
and  South  Dakota,  while  eastern  Montana  may  perhaps  be  consid¬ 
ered  a  part  of  it. 

Prairie  Region.  Kansas  and  Nebraska  are  included  in  this 
division.  Oklahoma  may  also  be  considered  here,  although  it  is 
also  in  many  ways  characteristic  of  the  Southwestern  Region. 

Southwestern  Region.  This  includes  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and 
Texas,  and  possibly  Oklahoma. 

The  Range  Region.  This  includes  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Utah, 
Colorado,  Wyoming,  Idaho,  Nevada,  and  western  Montana. 

Pacific  Region.  This  includes  California,  Oregon,  and  Wash¬ 
ington. 

Working  with  few  cases  the  Committee  on  Social  and  Reli¬ 
gious  Surveys  combined  for  its  purpose  the  Southern  and  South¬ 
ern  Mountain  Regions  and  divided  the  Prairie  and  Northwest  and 
Southwest  between  the  Middle  West  and  Range. 


18 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


0  500 

*  *■ . -* 

Scale  of  Miles 


Map  showing  the  regional  divisions  adopted  for  Interchurch  World  Move¬ 
ment  surveys,  with  the  location  of  the  twenty-six  counties  resurveyed  by  the 
Committee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys.  The  data  in  Chapters  I,  II  and 
III  are  based  on  this  division.  The  data  from  the  resurvey  of  the  twenty-six 
counties  are  presented  on  a  basis  of  five  regions  instead  of  nine,  because  of 
the  small  number  of  counties  restudied.  The  Mountain  division  and  most 
of  the  Southwest  were  combined  with  the  South,  and  the  Northwest  was 
divided  between  the  Range  and  the  Middle  West,  with  which  region  the 
Prairie  was  also  placed. 


19 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


The  Colonial  Region 

The  Colonial  area  is  the  great  urban-industrial  zone  of  America. 
Agriculture  is  secondary  and  each  decade  finds  it  in  a  relatively  less 
important  position.  There  was  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  farms 
of  every  size  in  each  state  in  this  area  during  the  last  decade  and 
also  a  decrease  in  the  total  farm  acreage  and  in  the  improved  land 
in  farms  except  in  Vermont.  The  average  acreage  per  farm  slightly 
increased.  The  percentage  of  the  farms  operated  by  tenants,  never 
very  high  here,  somewhat  decreased  and  now  stands  at  7.4  per  cent, 
in  New  England  and  20.7  per  cent,  in  the  Middle  Atlantic  States. 
At  the  same  time  the  percentage  of  farms  operated  by  persons  of 
foreign  birth  increased  to  18.1  per  cent,  for  New  England,  and  to 
11  per  cent,  for  the  Middle  Atlantic  States. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  rural  population  is  apparently  more  stable 
in  this  region  than  in  any  other,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
Southern  Mountains.  For  the  United  States  as  a  whole,  in  1920, 
52.5  per  cent,  of  all  farmers  had  been  living  on  their  present  farms 
for  five  years  or  more.  In  the  Colonial  area  this  percentage  is  67. 
In  the  United  States  as  a  whole,  48.1  per  cent,  of  all  farmers  are 
forty-five  years  of  age  or  older.  In  the  Colonial  area  this  per¬ 
centage  is  61.3.  Except  in  sections  where  folk  depletion  has  be¬ 
come  a  serious  problem,  or  where  there  has  been  the  greatest  influx 
of  foreign  born,  the  rural  population  is  chiefly  of  old  local  stock 
and  the  upper  age-groups  tend  to  predominate.  The  outstanding 
impressions  concerning  this  region  may  be  summarized  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

(a)  In  the  thirty  years  from  1890  to  1920  the  urban  popula¬ 
tion  of  New  England  increased  from  33.2  per  cent,  of  the  total  to 
79.2  per  cent.  In  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  it  in¬ 
creased  from  42.3  per  cent,  to  74.9  per  cent.  During  the  last  decade 
the  rural  population  throughout  the  area  has  not  only  decreased 
relatively  but  also  actually,  despite  an  increase  of  more  than  one- 
seventh  in  the  total  population.  The  New  England  states  have  29.8 
per  cent,  and  the  Middle  Atlantic  States  have  47.4  per  cent,  of  their 
population  living  in  cities  of  100,000  population  or  over.  In  thirty 
years  the  number  of  incorporated  places  of  2,500  population  or  over 
increased  from  548  to  896.  The  great  metropolitan  zones  of  cities 
like  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburgh,  Buffalo,  Rochester, 
dominate  great  regions  of  contiguous  territory.  It  is  apparent  that 
urban,  suburban,  and  small  industrial  community  growth  is  the 
predominant  source  of  population  increase  throughout  this  area. 

20 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


There  is  also  apparent  an  expansive  trend  to  industry,  so  that 
the  small  towns  are  coming  to  depend  more  and  more  on  some  form 
of  manufacture.  Quite  apart  from  this  industrial  development  there 
is  an  increasing  dominance  of  the  village  over  the  country  from 
an  institutional  and  service  point  of  view.  Except  in  parts  of 
Pennsylvania,  open  country  institutions  are  very  generally  declin¬ 
ing.  What  this  means  to  rural  life  is  discussed  in  the  volume  of 
this  series  entitled  “The  Country  Church  in  Industrial  Zones.” 

(b)  Agriculture  in  the  Colonial  area  may  be  said  to  be  ap¬ 
proaching  bed  rock.  There  was  a  time  when  it  was  common  to 
speak  of  the  decline  of  eastern  agriculture  and  to  call  attention  to 
the  abandonment  of  farms  and  to  the  depletion  of  the  rural  popu¬ 
lation.  It  appears,  now,  however,  that  agriculture  here  is  on  a 
reasonably  stable  foundation.  There  is  not  much  room  for  expan¬ 
sion,  and  indeed  additional  encroachments  due  to  urban  growth 
may  be  expected,  but  within  the  limits  set  for  it,  agriculture  pre¬ 
sents  a  sound,  economic  opportunity.  Dairying  is  the  most  impor¬ 
tant  single  aspect  of  farming,  with  fruit,  truck,  tobacco,  and  gen¬ 
eral  farming  also  important. 

(c)  Large  areas  throughout  this  region,  particularly  in  New  Eng¬ 
land  and  northern  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  are  being  taken  over 
and  added  to  for  summer  play  grounds.  The  effects  of  this,  and 
of  other  influences,  upon  local  institutions  are  clearly  shown  in  “The 
Country  Church  in  Colonial  Counties.”  1 

(d)  Country  and  small  town  churches  still  show,  as  they  have 
shown  for  200  years,  the  characteristics  of  the  European  traditions 
behind  them.  Only  in  this  region  has  the  country  church  had,  as 
a  rule,  the  long  pastorate,  the  adequate  church  building  and  manse, 
and  the  sort  of  standing  in  its  community  traceable  to  the  tradition 
of  the  “Established  Church.”  Further,  the  great  missionary  influ¬ 
ences  of  our  American  churches  were  born  and  nurtured  here. 

(e)  In  social  life,  too,  the  Colonial  tradition  has  been  less  modi¬ 
fied  in  the  rural  parts  of  this  area  than  in  rural  districts  elsewhere. 
The  Puritan  influence  in  New  England,  that  of  the  Dutch  in  New 
York,  and  of  the  Germans,  Scotch-Irish  and  Quakers  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  have  put  a  lasting  stamp  on  the  life  of  many  of  the  rural 
communities. 

(f)  In  considerable  areas,  hill-town  decadence  or  folk  depletion 
has  been  a  real  problem.  Many  of  the  retarded  districts  have  lost 
in  population  through  each  successive  decade  for  a  hundred  years, 


of 


1  See  also  the  Committee’s  publication,  “A  Church  and  Community  Survey 
Salem  Co.,  New  Jersey.” 

21 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


and  the  original  stock  has  given  of  its  best  to  the  settlement  of  other 
parts  of  the  country. 

(g)  The  increasing  racial  complexity  of  the  rural  population  is 
an  important  factor.  Various  strains  of  European  immigrants  have 
gained  foothold  upon  the  land.  Where  farming  has  not  attracted 
them,  the  industrial  life  of  the  smaller  towns  has  been  the  magnet. 
In  addition  to  this,  there  are,  of  course,  large  areas  in  Pennsylvania 
where  the  original  German  stock  has  kept  its  distinctive  character¬ 
istics  down  to  the  present  time. 

Throughout  the  Colonial  area  the  county  has  not  been  important 
as  a  political  unit,  while  in  New  England  it  is  almost  non-existent. 
In  this  region  the  minor  civil  division  has  the  more  important  place 
in  the  political  life. 


The  Middlewestern  Region 

The  Middle  West  is  referred  to  as  “the  Valley  of  Democracy,” 
and  as  “the  Heart  of  America.”  It  is  regarded  as  representing  the 
norm  of  American  rural  life.  It  might  be  called  “The  Great 
American  Average.”  There  were  three  main  population  movements 
into  the  Middle  West.  The  first  was  from  New  England  and  New 
York,  traces  of  which  can  be  clearly  seen  as  far  west  as  Iowa.  The 
second  was  from  the  near  South.  It  came  in  by  way  of  the  Ohio 
River  Valley.  The  third  was  by  direct  importation  from  Europe, 
chiefly  from  Germany  and  Scandinavian  countries.  The  effects  of 
these  three  diverse  influences  are  clearly  apparent  in  the  religious 
and  institutional  life,  and  in  the  general  cultural  conditions,  of  the 
areas  which  they  affected.  The  Western  Reserve  may  stand  as  the 
symbol  of  the  first,  the  Ohio  River  Valley  of  the  second,  and 
Southern  Illinois  or  Central  Wisconsin  of  the  third.  In  most  re¬ 
spects  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  are  the  variants  in  this  region. 
They  have  many  characteristics  which  would  ally  them  rather  with 
the  Northwestern  Region  than  with  the  states  immediately  to  the 
south  of  them.  Two  strips  running  clear  across  this  area  show 
retarded  rural  development.  The  first  of  these  includes  the  south¬ 
ernmost  counties  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois ;  the  other,  the  upper 
peninsula  of  Michigan  and  the  wooded  sections  of  northern  Wis¬ 
consin. 

Wisconsin  was  the  only  state  in  this  area  which  did  not  lose  in 
rural  population  during  the  last  decade,  and  her  gain  was  very 
small.  The  rural  population  in  incorporated  places  increased,  and 
the  loss  was  in  the  farm  population  and  in  the  population  of  the 

22 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


unincorporated  hamlets.  Each  recent  decade  has  shown  an  increase 
in  the  proportion  of  the  urban  population.  This  change  has  been 
coincident  with  the  spread  of  industrialism  in  parts  of  this  region 
during  the  last  decade,  and  more  generally  with  the  rise  of  the  agri¬ 
cultural  village  and  the  appearance  of  the  retired  farmer,  especially 
in  Illinois  and  Iowa. 

Wisconsin  was  the  only  state  in  this  area  which  did  not  show  a 
decrease  in  the  total  number  of  farms ;  and  Wisconsin  and  Michigan 
were  the  only  states  which  showed  increase  in  the  total  farm  acreage 
and  in  the  total  acreage  of  improved  farm  land.  In  each  of  these 
states  such  conditions  are  due  to  the  existence  of  considerable 
areas  which  still  have  pioneer  characteristics.  There  is  no  longer 
much  good  land  for  settlement  in  Iowa,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio ; 
but  rural  expansion  may  be  expected  to  go  on  slowly  for  some  time 
in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin. 

In  general,  throughout  the  Middle  West,  the  tendency  is  toward 
the  farm  of  intermediate  size  and  away  from  both  the  very  large 
and  the  very  small  farm.  Except  in  Wisconsin,  every  state  showed, 
in  the  last  census  period,  a  loss  in  the  number  of  farms  in  every 
size-class  under  one  hundred  acres,  and  a  gain  in  those  of  between 
one  hundred  acres  and  500  acres. 

Every  state  in  this  area  showed  during  the  last  decade  an  increase 
in  the  percentage  of  farms  operated  by  tenants.  Here  again  Michi¬ 
gan  and  Wisconsin  appear  as  variants,  for  while  tenantry  has  been 
on  the  increase  it  still  stands  at  a  point  much  lower  than  in  the 
other  states  of  this  region,  a  fact  which  is  due  in  part  to  economic 
causes  and  in  part  to  racial  influences.  The  other  states  stand  well 
toward  the  top  among  all  those  in  the  Union  in  the  percentage  of 
tenantry.  The  figures  for  1920  are  as  follows :  Illinois  42.7  per 
cent.,  Iowa  41.7  per  cent.,  Indiana  32  per  cent.,  Ohio  29.5  per  cent., 
Michigan  17.7  per  cent.,  Wisconsin  14.4  per  cent.  In  part,  these 
high  percentages  are  due  to  the  great  amount  of  speculation  in  farm 
lands.  In  Illinois  and  Iowa  particularly,  farm  values  have  steadily 
increased  and  in  the  opinion  of  many  have  reached  a  point  which 
reflects  not  so  much  their  intrinsic  income-producing  value  as  their 
speculative  value.  This  was  especially  apparent  in  the  year  after 
the  War.  For  example,  it  was  estimated  that  during  1919  between 
10  per  cent,  and  20  per  cent,  of  all  the  farms  in  Iowa  changed 
hands,  some  of  them  many  times.  It  is  probable  that  the  overwhelm¬ 
ing  majority  of  tenant  farmers  eventually  reach  ownership,  but  the 
speculating  in  farm  values  has  undoubtedly  retarded  the  tenants’ 
progress  toward  the  purchase  of  a  farm.  The  better  developed 

23 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


regions  of  the  Middle  West  undoubtedly  show  country  life  in  its 
most  substantial  form.  This  is  the  stronghold  of  the  “Farm 
Bureau,”  and  the  greatest  agricultural  colleges  are  here.  There  has 
been  a  remarkable  increase  in  farmers’  cooperation.  In  Iowa,  73.1 
per  cent,  of  the  farmers  have  automobiles,  a  proportion  exceeded 
by  only  one  other  state.  For  the  whole  region  the  percentage  is  59 
as  compared  with  30.7  for  the  national  average.  The  general  excel¬ 
lence  of  this  section  in  matters  affecting  public  improvement  is  set 
forth  in  “Rural  Church  Life  in  the  Middle  West.” 

A  study  of  the  religious  life  and  institutions  reveals  that  the 
Colonial  traditions  have  been  modified  and  overlaid  with  other  tra¬ 
ditions.  Except  in  the  German  and  Scandinavian  communities  the 
country  churches  have  never  had  resident  pastors.  They  show  the 
influence  of  pioneer  traditions.  There  is  very  slight  trace  in  this 
section  of  the  “Established  Church”  tradition  save  as  it  appears  in 
the  liturgical  churches  of  the  German  and  Scandinavian  groups. 

The  county  as  a  civic  unit  has,  on  the  average,  somewhat  greater 
importance  than  in  the  Colonial  area,  though  the  minor  civil  divi¬ 
sion  is  a  more  important  political  factor. 

The  Southern  Region 

In  any  consideration  of  the  South,  the  effects  of  the  plantation 
system  and  of  slavery  are  obvious.  In  like  manner  one  must  take 
account  of  the  period  of  economic  exhaustion  and  of  general  pov¬ 
erty  which  followed  the  Civil  War.  The  South  is  by  no  means  one 
uniform  section.  The  Southern  Mountain  Region  is  carved  out  of 
it  bodily;  but  aside  from  that  there  are  variations  of  considerable 
importance.  Thus  the  cotton  section,  the  tobacco  section,  and  the 
sections  where  general  farming  predominates  are  different  from 
one  another  not  only  in  economic  characteristics  but  in  social  char¬ 
acteristics  as  well. 

For  the  South  as  a  whole  certain  generalizations  may  be  made: 

(a)  First  may  be  mentioned  the  extensive  industrial  develop¬ 
ment  now  in  process.  Until  recently  the  South  was  almost  exclu¬ 
sively  an  agricultural  area.  It  is  rapidly  becoming  an  important 
industrial  area.  Manufacturing  has  greatly  increased,  as  witness 
the  large  number  of  cotton  mills  which  have  been  established  in 
North  and  South  Carolina.  There  are  vast  coal  and  iron  deposits 
in  Alabama,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky.  Birmingham  is  becoming 
an  important  steel  center.  The  South  has  extensive  timber  re¬ 
sources,  and  Memphis  is  said  to  be  the  greatest  hardwood  market 

24 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


in  the  world.  The  South  has  undeveloped  power  resources  of  almost 
measureless  extent. 

Every  state  in  the  South  shows  a  smaller  proportion  of  its  total 
population  classified  as  rural  in  the  last  census.  Every  Southern 
state  increased  in  total  population  except  Mississippi,  which  has  the 
highest  percentage  of  rural  population  of  any  state  in  the  Union. 

(b)  Important  changes  have  been  taking  place  in  the  type  of 
agriculture.  The  steady  increase  in  the  areas  infested  by  the  boll 
weevil  has  occasioned  in  many  parts  of  the  South  a  decrease  in 
cotton  acreage  and  a  consequent  diversification  of  crops.  There  has 
been  during  recent  years  a  persistent  effort  to  encourage  the  growth 
of  food  and  forage  crops.  The  agricultural  extension  work  in  the 
South,  initiated  under  Dr.  Seaman  Knapp,  has  been  an  outstanding 
development.  For  the  South  as  a  whole  there  has  been  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  farms  but  a  decrease  in  the  total  farm  acreage, 
showing  a  marked  tendency  toward  the  small-sized  farm.  There 
was  no  very  great  variation  in  the  percentage  of  tenantry  during 
the  last  decade.  It  is  high  in  the  cotton  states,  which  also  have  the 
most  Negro  farmers.  The  two  facts  are  closely  related.  The  five 
states  which  stand  at  the  top  of  the  list  in  both  these  respects  are 
the  following: 

Percentage  of  Farms  Percentage  of  Farms 


States  Operated  by  Tenants  Operated  by  Negroes 

South  Carolina  .  64.5  per  cent.  56.6  per  cent. 

Georgia .  66.6  per  cent.  41.9  per  cent. 

Mississippi  .  66.1  per  cent.  59.2  per  cent. 

Alabama  .  57.9  per  cent.  37.2  per  cent. 

Louisiana  .  57.1  per  cent.  45.8  per  cent. 


Economic  cooperation  has  not  made  very  much  headway  in  the 
South,  although  there  are  signs  now  that  it  is  entering  into  a  period 
of  development.  Perhaps  no  phase  of  farming  in  the  country  has 
been  more  in  need  of  cooperative  organization  than  has  cotton 
farming;  but  the  fact  that  so  much  of  it  has  been  done  on  small- 
acreage  farms  and  by  Negroes,  or  by  uneducated  white  farmers,  has 
made  the  organization  of  effective  cooperation  very  difficult. 

(c)  The  South  has  been  the  most  backward  part  of  the  country 
educationally,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  per  capita  expenditure  for  edu¬ 
cation,  the  proportion  of  the  population  in  schools,  and  the  degree 
of  illiteracy.  Nor  has  this  characterized  merely  the  colored  people. 
There  have  been  large  numbers  of  relatively  uneducated  people  in 
the  country  and  in  the  small  towns.  The  effect  of  the  mountains 
may  be  seen  here.  They  have  been  the  population  reservoir  of  the 
South,  constantly  spilling  over  into  its  surrounding  towns  and  cities, 

25 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


filling  their  mills  and  factories.  This  mountain  stock  is  good  stock 
but  generally  speaking  has  been  undeveloped  and  uneducated.  At 
the  present  time,  however,  the  South  is  making  very  considerable 
progress  educationally  and  has  displayed  wide  interest  in  this  matter. 

(d)  The  South  shows  perhaps  greater  extremes  in  living  con¬ 
ditions  in  its.  rural  districts  and  small  towns  than  any  other  part  of 
the  United  States.  Except  in  the  great  plantation  homes,  condi¬ 
tions  in  the  country  are  still  generally  very  primitive.  The  average 
house  is  almost  entirely  without  the  ordinary  conveniences.  The 
average  small  town  is  also  on  the  whole  poorly  kept  and  poorly 
provided  with  public  utilities. 

(e)  The  county  has  been  of  great  importance  as  a  civic  unit. 
In  consequence,  the  rate  of  incorporation  of  towns  has  been  high. 
There  is  also  rather  clearly  apparent  a  sharp  cleavage  between  town 
and  open  country.  Even  less  than  in  most  other  sections  does  the 
town  serve  the  contiguous  territory  socially  or  institutionally. 

(f)  In  general  the  social  and  civic  policy,  as  in  education  and 
religion,  has  been  characterized  by  its  pronounced  conservatism.  In 
the  main  this  has  been  owing  to  its  social  system  and  to  the  lack 
of  developed  educational  influences.  There  are  now,  however,  many 
liberalizing  influences. 

(g)  In  religion  the  South  has  had  two  characteristic  develop¬ 
ments.  The  first  is  that  of  the  pastorless  church,  with  an  itinerant 
preacher  holding  occasional  services,  and  its  annual  revival ;  the 
second — and  perhaps  this  is  merely  a  variation  of  the  other — is  the 
church  served  by  a  non-professional  local  minister.  Each  system 
tends  to  conservatism  of  method  and  to  a  high  degree  of  emotional 
instability. 


The  Southern  Mountain  Region 

There  is  available  for  the  student  such  an  exhaustive  and 
authoritative,  as  well  as  readable,  treatment  of  the  Southern  Moun¬ 
tains  in  John  Campbell’s  “The  Southern  Highlander  and  His  Home¬ 
land”  that  any  extended  discussion  here  would  be  superfluous.  The 
Southern  Highlands,  as  Mr.  Campbell  describes  them,  include  an 
area  of  112,000  square  miles  covering  the  whole  of  West  Virginia, 
and  parts  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  Ala¬ 
bama,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  Georgia,  and  embracing  in  all  about 
260  counties.  These  counties  have  a  total  population  of  approxi¬ 
mately  six  million,  of  which  16.1  per  cent,  live  in  ninety-one  places 
of  2,500  population,  4.4  per  cent,  live  in  156  places  of  from  1,000 

26 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


to  2,500  population,  and  the  balance  of  79.5  per  cent,  live  outside 
of  incorporated  places  having  1,000  or  more  population.  A  great 
proportion  of  this  population  is  native-born  white  and  rural.  The 
small  Negro  population  is  chiefly  in  the  larger  towns.  The  foreign- 
born  population  is  negligible.  Outside  of  the  towns  the  population 
of  whole  counties  is  almost  100  per  cent,  native-born  Anglo-Saxon. 

The  problem  of  the  Southern  Mountains  has  been  the  problem 
of  retardation.  Economic  opportunities  have  been  meager.  There 
are  resources  in  timber  and  mining,  but  until  recently  these  have  not 
been  developed  on  any  considerable  scale.  Agricultural  resources, 
in  most  sections,  are  not  adequate  to  the  need  of  a  large  population. 
Poverty,  therefore,  has  been  general ;  educational  opportunities  have 
been  relatively  few;,  living  conditions  are  more  primitive  than  else¬ 
where  in  the  South ;  transportation  facilities  have  been  poor, 
although  they  are  now  improving;  diseases  traceable  to  malnutri¬ 
tion  or  soil  pollution  have  been  common  and  widespread.  The 
topography  of  the  mountains  has  made  for  many  small  neighbor¬ 
hoods  and  for  isolation. 

The  Southern  Mountaineer  is  characterized  by  an  extreme  form 
of  independence,  by  personal  aloofness,  emotionalism,  and  mental 
alertness. 

The  religious  institutions  show  pioneer  characteristics  in  their 
extreme.  Denominationalism  is  a  dominant  religious  fact.  Par¬ 
tisanships  of  all  kinds  are  intense. 

The  Southern  Mountains  have  been  and  are  a  great  home  mis¬ 
sion  field  in  which  many  of  the  national  missionary  societies  are  at 
work  in  support  of  hospital,  school,  and  church  enterprises. 

The  Northwestern  Region 

This  region  includes  Minnesota,  the  two  Dakotas,  and  the  eastern 
part  of  Montana,  and  is  a  district  still  in  the  process  of  formation. 
On  the  east  it  has  begun  to  take  on  the  characteristics  of  the  Middle 
West.  At  its  western  end  it  shades  into  the  frontier.  In  its  center 
it  is  in  certain  respects  not  unlike  the  Prairie  Region,  and  the  chief 
characteristics  common  to  the  whole  area  are  those  of  a  spring 
wheat  region.  It  is  throughout  predominantly  agricultural,  though 
Minnesota  has  an  extensive  lumber  interest  and  also  includes  a 
number  of  highly  productive  iron  ranges.  North  and  South  Dakota 
form  the  most  exclusively  rural  part  of  the  area,  with  86.4  per  cent, 
and  84  per  cent,  respectively  of  their  total  populations  classified  as 
rural.  In  Minnesota  the  rural  element  forms  55.9  per  cent,  of  the 

27 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


population.  In  each  case  the  1920  rural  percentage  is  somewhat 
lower  than  in  1910.  The  Dakotas  are  like  the  states  south  of  them 
in  that  as  one  goes  westward  the  climate  becomes  more  arid  and 
agriculture  in  general  more  nearly  approximates  the  pioneer  type. 
Recently  these  states  and  eastern  Montana  have  experienced  several 
years  of  continuous  drouth  which  resulted  in  crop  failure  and  caused 
the  people  great  hardships. 

For  the  area  as  a  whole  there  has  been  a  considerable  increase  in 
the  number  of  farms,  in  the  total  farm  acreage,  and  in  the  acreage 
of  improved  land  in  farms.  Especially  is  this  true  in  Montana 
where  the  improved  farm  acreage  more  than  trebled  in  the  last 
decade.  The  farms  average  large  in  size  and  are  increasing.  In 
this  particular  Minnesota,  with  an  average  farm  acreage  of  170 
acres,  shows  its  similarity  to  the  Middle  West,  as  compared  with 
an  average  of  464  for  North  Dakota,  461  for  South  Dakota  and 
605  for  Montana. 

The  percentage  of  farms  operated  by  tenants  is  not  so  high  as 
in  the  Middle  West  or  in  the  Prairie  states,  but  is  considerably 
higher  than  in  the  Range  states.  In  this,  as  in  some  other  par¬ 
ticulars,  these  states  seem  to  present  a  condition  midway  between 
the  highly  developed  Middle  West  and  Prairie  states  and  the  frontier 
areas  of  the  Inter-Mountain  region.  Tenantry  is  lowest  in  Mon¬ 
tana,  where  the  percentage  is  but  11.3.  It  is  highest  in  South  Da¬ 
kota,  with  34.9  per  cent.  The  greatest  proportional  change  in  the 
decade  was  in  North  Dakota,  which  increased  its  percentage  from 
14.3  to  25.6.  In  Minnesota  it  is  24.7  per  cent. 

Agricultural  cooperation  has  developed  very  greatly  in  this 
region,  particularly  in  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota.  This  has 
doubtless  been  owing  to  a  number  of  causes.  Both  wheat  and  live 
stock  are  phases  of  farming  which  lend  themselves  readily  to 
cooperative  organizations  and  in  which  the  need  of  such  organiza¬ 
tions  is  very  apparent.  Then,  too,  these  states  have  on  their  farms 
a  large  Scandinavian  and  German  population,  and  these  are  groups 
to  which  cooperation  has  been  more  or  less  natural.  Further,  there 
has  been  in  this  whole  area  a  sharp  cleavage  between  the  towns  and 
cities  on  the  one  hand  and  the  open  country  districts  on  the  other. 
The  cities  have  been  controlled  by  the  manufacture  and  the  exploi¬ 
tation  of  farm  products.  Even  the  smaller  towns  have  existed  or 
have  seemed  to  exist  primarily  for  purposes  of  exploitation  rather 
than  for  purposes  of  service.  These  are  the  conditions  which 
accelerated  the  development  of  economic  cooperation  and  which 
resulted  in  the  Non-Partisan  League  movement. 

28 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


Racial  differences  are  important  in  social  and  religious  life,  par¬ 
ticularly  in  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota.  The  language  line  is 
apparent  in  most  small  communities,  clearly  dividing  the  social  and 
religious  life  of  the  communities.  Many  Russian  farmers  have 
recently  settled  in  North  Dakota. 

The  size  of  the  farms  and  the  wide  dispersion  of  population 
have  made  social  life  much  less  cohesive  than  in  the  Middle  West. 
The  social,  religious  and  economic  influence  of  the  villages  is  not 
so  strong  nor  well  directed.  The  villages  themselves  tend  to  nar¬ 
rowness  and  a  provincial  character.  This  is  the  country  of  the 
“Daughter  of  the  Middle  Border”  and  “Main  Street.” 

The  Prairie  Region 

The  Prairie  is  a  diminishing  area  which  is  changing  both  its 
boundaries  and  its  characteristics.  Possibly  only  Kansas  and  Ne¬ 
braska  and  a  part  of  Oklahoma  should  be  included.  Its  character¬ 
istics  have  extended,  however,  into  all  of  the  surrounding  states. 
But  at  present,  in  view  of  existing  tendencies,  it  is  hardly  clear  that 
there  should  be  a  separate  Prairie  Region  at  all.  Eastern  Kansas 
and  Nebraska,  which  have  heavier  rainfall  than  prevails  further 
west,  are  in  most  particulars  like  western  Iowa  and  Missouri  and 
are  growing  more  like  them.  Nebraska  is  becoming  one  of  the 
wealthiest  agricultural  states  in  the  Union  and  Kansas  is  not  far 
behind.  This  is  the  winter  wheat  region  where  diversified  farming 
is  coming  wherever  rainfall  or  irrigation  supplies  sufficient  mois¬ 
ture.  Western  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  again  except  where  irriga¬ 
tion  is  possible,  have  dry-farming  characteristics,  and  that  means 
large  farms  and  scattered  communities.  Both  of  these  states  are 
predominantly  rural  in  their  population.  In  each  state  there  has 
been  a  slight  decrease  in  the  number  of  farms  but  increase  in  the 
total  farm  acreage.  Farms  average  large,  but  in  Nebraska  they  are 
nearly  one  hundred  acres  larger  on  the  average  than  in  Kansas. 
The  percentage  of  tenantry  is  high  and  increasing.  It  stands  now 
at  40.4  in  Kansas  and  42.9  in  Nebraska. 

From  every  agricultural  point  of  view  these  are  among  the  most 
progressive  states.  Farmers’  cooperation  is  well  established  and 
widespread,  and  on  the  whole  it  is  very  successful.  In  farm  con¬ 
veniences  of  various  sorts  these  states  rank  high.  Nebraska  stands 
first  in  the  Union  in  the  percentage  of  farmers  owning  automobiles. 
Its  percentage  is  75.6,  while  the  percentage  of  Kansas  is  62. 

Village  life  is  on  the  whole  less  developed  culturally  than  in  the 

29 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Middle  West.  The  cities  are  comparatively  few.  Both  cities  and 
towns  are  closely  related  to  the  country  round  about  and  there  is 
no  clear  difference  between  the  intellectual  life  of  the  country  and 
that  of  the  towns.  In  public  opinion  these  states  represent  a  Puritan 
survival.  They  were  among  the  foremost  advocates  of  prohibition 
and  have  been  early  in  the  field  in  the  limitation  of  the  use  of 
tobacco.  The  influence  of  the  churches  has  been  thrown  behind 
this  sort  of  crusading.2 

The  Southwestern  Region 

The  Southwest,  as  it  has  been  defined,  would  include  part  of 
Missouri,  Arkansas,  Texas,  and  perhaps  Oklahoma.  This  is  the 
section  made  out  of  the  fusion  of  the  South  and  West.  Northern 
and  southern  traditions  are  brought  into  close  competition  here,  and 
each  has  modified  the  other.  The  original  population  was  of  the 
southern  tradition,  including  both  Negro  and  white  elements.  Pro¬ 
gressive  western  elements  have  combined  with  them,  particularly 
in  Oklahoma  and  in  Texas. 

Except  for  the  similarity  in  their  population,  these  states  have 
few  common  characteristics.  Parts  of  Missouri  are  in  all  respects 
like  the  Middle  West  and  should  be  so  regarded.  There  is  a  con¬ 
siderable  mountain  area  in  the  Ozarks,  taking  in  parts  of  both  Mis¬ 
souri  and  Arkansas,  which  has  characteristics  in  general  like  the 
Appalachian  mountain  regions. 

At  present  there  appear  to  be  greater  agricultural  opportunities, 
at  least  in  parts  of  the  Ozark  Mountains  than  in  the  Appalachians. 

Texas  combines  in  itself  the  characteristics  of  several  ordinary 
states.  Agricultural  conditions  vary  greatly  as  between  its  cotton 
regions,  its  cattle  and  dry-farming  areas,  and  those  parts  which  are 
gradually  turning  to  general  farming.  Oklahoma  presents  charac¬ 
teristics  as  unlike  as  if  it  were  two  states.  Both  economic  con¬ 
ditions  and  population  clearly  differentiate  the  area  included  in  the 
old  Indian  territory  from  the  rest  of  the  state.  Agriculturally,  this 
whole  region  is  predominantly  a  one-crop  region,  but  the  one  crop 
is  different  for  the  different  parts  of  the  area.  There  has  been  an 
increase  in  the  number  of  farms  and  a  slight  increase  in  the  total 
farm  acreage.  The  percentage  of  tenantry,  except  in  Missouri,  is 
high,  but  there  has  been  no  general  increase  during  the  decade. 

2  See  the  Committee’s  publication,  “Sedgwick  County,  Kansas,  a  Church 
and  Community  Survey,”  for  a  study  of  a  typical  prairie  county. 

30 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


The  percentages  are  now  for  Missouri,  28.8;  for  Oklahoma,  51 ;  for 
Arkansas,  51.3,  and  for  Texas,  53.3. 

Agriculture  is  the  principal  resource,  although  oil  is  increasingly 
important  in  the  economic  life  of  Texas  and  Oklahoma.  The  popu¬ 
lation  is  predominantly  rural.  The  cities,  except  in  a  few  cases 
where  they  have  been  built  largely  by  oil  interests,  are  closely  related 
to  the  agricultural  life. 

There  is  by  no  means  a  homogeneous  population  throughout 
this  area.  Negroes  are  especially  numerous  in  Arkansas  and  in 
Texas,  and  racial  feeling  is  often  tense.  In  Texas  there  are  prob¬ 
ably  at  least  650,000  Mexicans.  They  are  found  mostly  along  the 
border,  but  of  late  have  begun  to  scatter  pretty  well  over  the  entire 
state.  Many  of  these  Mexicans  are  employed  as  farm  hands.  Some 
are  section  hands  on  the  railroads,  and  others  do  much  of  the  rough 
work  in  the  towns.  Texas  also  has  a  large  number  of  Czecho¬ 
slovaks,  possibly  200,000.  Most  of  them  are  farmers.  They  form 
a  prosperous,  substantial  element  in  the  citizenship.  Oklahoma  is 
the  first  state  in  the  Union  in  the  number  of  Indians  within  its 
borders,  having  fully  110,000.  These  are  not  confined  to  reserva¬ 
tions  but  are  scattered  through  the  farming  areas.  The  Indians  as 
a  class  have  valuable  holdings  in  land. 

Home  conditions  in  the  country  are,  generally  speaking,  like 
those  in  the  poorer  parts  of  the  South.  The  smaller  towns,  too,  are 
often  primitive  and  unattractive.  Many  of  the  larger  towns,  how¬ 
ever,  are  exceedingly  well  kept  and  progressive.  The  health  con¬ 
ditions  are  in  the  main  those  of  the  South.  In  Arkansas,  for 
example,  hookworm  is  very  prevalent.  The  cities  and  towns  are 
sympathetic  with  the  open  country  but  contribute  little  to  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  farm. 

Religious  life  shows  both  southern  and  western  influences. 
Country  churches  are  small  and  without  resident  pastors.  Denomi- 
nationalism  is  everywhere  an  important  factor  and  is  accentuated 
by  the  presence  throughout  most  of  this  area  of  both  the  northern 
and  southern  branches  of  the  major  denominations.  Emotionalism 
is  a  dominant  characteristic  of  religious  life. 

The  Range  Region 

The  Range  is  here  regarded  as  including  Arizona,  New  Mexico, 
Utah,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Idaho,  Nevada,  and  Western  Montana. 
It  may  perhaps  be  said  that  just  two  things  are  characteristic  of  this 

SI 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


entire  area,  the  mountainous  country  and  the  light  rainfall.  These 
are  the  things  that  have  most  decisively  influenced  its  economic  and 
social  character.  Each  state  has  certain  individual  characteristics 
which  differentiate  it  sharply  from  the  others;  and  these  perhaps 
should  be  mentioned  first. 

New  Mexico  in  general  looks  toward  the  South  and  the  East. 
El  Paso  is  its  social  and  economic  capital.  Two-thirds  of  its  resi¬ 
dents  are  of  Spanish  origin.  The  majority  of  these  are  American- 
born,  many  of  them,  indeed,  of  stock  that  has  been  on  this  side  of 
the  Rio  Grande  for  several  generations;  but  they  are  Spanish  in 
language  and  in  general  characteristics.  There  is  also  a  large  con¬ 
tingent  of  the  newer  Mexican  immigrants.  New  Mexico  is  fourth 
among  the  states  in  the  number  of  Indians.  Towns  are  few,  small, 
and  scattered.  In  the  farming  districts  dry  farming  and  cattle¬ 
raising  are  the  rule.  Population  is  sparse.  Where  there  is  irriga¬ 
tion  the  land  is  very  productive  and  there  are  fine  communities. 

Arizona  has  its  affiliations  with  Southern  California,  and  Los 
Angeles  is  its  trade  center.  It  is  the  second  state  in  the  Union 
in  the  number  of  Indians,  having  all  told  44,000.  It  has  a  large 
Mexican  contingent,  numbering  at  least  190,000  and  chiefly  the  more 
recent  immigrants  employed  in  the  copper  mines  and  smelters  and 
on  the  cotton  plantations.  Copper  is  an  important  economic  re¬ 
source.  Agriculture  means  chiefly  cattle  or  sheep  raising,  except 
where  irrigation  is  practiced,  as  for  example  in  the  Salt  River  Val¬ 
ley,  where  an  extra  fine  quality  of  Egyptian  long-staple  cotton  is 
raised.  Both  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  are  great  health  resorts, 
particularly  for  persons  afflicted  with  tuberculosis. 

Colorado  has  fewer  Mexicans  than  the  other  states  in  this  group. 
There  are  perhaps  100,000,  chiefly  in  the  mining  centers,  as  around 
Trinidad.  It  has  some  Indians,  but  not  many.  Mining  is  a  pri¬ 
mary  resource;  dry  farming  is  practiced,  and  in  some  places  there 
is  irrigation. 

Utah  is  characterized  chiefly  by  the  fact  that  its  population  is 
predominantly  Mormon.  Dry  farming  and  irrigation  have  both 
been  developed  to  a  high  degree. 

Idaho  is  made  up  of  two  widely  different  areas.  It  is  not  pos¬ 
sible  to  get  from  southern  to  northern  Idaho  by  ordinary  means  of 
travel  without  going  out  of  the  state.  Southern  Idaho  is  a  high- 
grade  farming  country  in  which  there  is  both  dry  farming  and  irri¬ 
gation.  Mormonism  is  very  strong  here.  The  natural  outlet  of  this 
region  is  by  way  of  Salt  Lake  City  and  Ogden.  Northern  Idaho  is 
primarily  a  lumbering  country.  It  belongs,  for  all  ordinary  pur- 

32 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


poses,  with  eastern  Washington,  to  which  it  is  more  closely  related. 

Wyoming-  is  as  undeveloped  as  any  state  in  this  region.  It  has 
mining  resources  and  oil.  There  are  some  developed  irrigation 
projects;  elsewhere  farming,  of  the  dry-farming  type,  and  cattle¬ 
raising.  Travel  facilities  arejmeager,  the  state  having  only  one  main 
railroad  in  each  direction  and  a  few  branch  lines. 

Western  Montana  is  a  great  mining  and  lumber  region  with 
some  fine  agricultural  valleys.  Its  agricultural  characteristics  are 
not  unlike  those  of  Idaho  or  Wyoming.  There  is  comparatively  little 
communication  between  Montana  and  the  states  further  South  be¬ 
cause  of  the  direction  of  the  railroads,  Montana  being  more  closely 
allied  with  Spokane  than  with  any  other  great  city  outside  its 
borders. 

Nevada  is  a  state  in  which  agricultural  institutions  are  of  com¬ 
paratively  small  importance.  Mining  is  the  chief  resource.  Nevada 
looks  to  the  coast,  and  in  particular  to  San  Francisco,  for  its  outlet. 
An  outstanding  characteristic  is  the  great  amount  of  waste  or  un¬ 
reclaimed  land  which  it  contains. 

These  seven  states  are  in  total  area  among  the  twelve  largest 
in  the  Union,  but  they  are  among  those  having  the  smallest  amount 
of  improved  farm  land.  Colorado  with  11.6  per  cent,  of  its  total 
area  represented  by  improved  land  in  farms  is  far  and  away  the 
leader  of  this  group.  Idaho  with  8.4  per  cent,  is  second.  Per¬ 
centages  for  the  other  states  are  as  follows :  Wyoming,  3.4  per 
cent.;  Utah,  3.1  per  cent.;  New  Mexico,  2.2  per  cent.;  Arizona,  .97 
per  cent.,  and  Nevada,  .83  per  cent.  Of  course,  the  amount  of  land 
used  for  grazing  purposes  is  very  great.  The  chief  agricultural 
progress  in  this  area  will  be  along  the  line  of  irrigation  development. 
Much  of  the  land  is  very  fertile  when  watered. 

The  second  outstanding  characteristic  is  general  isolation.  The 
type  of  farming  practiced  and  the  great  stretches  of  unimproved 
land  have  necessarily  made  for  a  diffused  type  of  settlement.  This 
makes  for  a  lack  of  neighborhood  or  community  organization  and 
for  an  absence  of  social  life.  People  will  gather  from  great  dis¬ 
tances  for  social  affairs.  But  the  opportunities  for  the  ordinary 
forms  of  social  intercourse  are  in  the  country  sections  very  meager. 
Towns  are  scattered,  but  exercise  a  considerable  influence  over  the 
surrounding  country.  Permanent  settlement,  except  in  a  few  areas, 
has  not  yet  been  accomplished. 

A  third  characteristic  is  the  general  high  quality  of  the  popula¬ 
tion,  which  is  chiefly  American  with  a  high  average  of  property 
holders.  Racial  differences,  where  these  exist,  are  sharply  marked. 

33 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


In  general,  one  is  impressed  by  the  freedom  from  convention  and 
social  restraint. 

Lastly,  these  states  are  all  characterized  by  a  low  estate  of  re¬ 
ligion,  unless  one  should  make  an  exception  in  favor  of  the  Mormon 
establishment,  where  the  church  has  very  evident  influence.  Else¬ 
where  the  churches  are  generally  inferior  in  type,  insecurely  rooted, 
with  little  social  sympathy.  They  have  not  yet  taken  hold  of  the 
life,  or  commanded  the  spiritual  attention  of  the  people.  This  is 
clearly  shown  in  the  “Church  on  the  Changing  Frontier.” 

The  Pacific  Region 

A  different  arrangement  of  states  by  regions  might  easily  be 
defended  which  would  include  California  with  Arizona  and  Nevada 
as  one  section,  and  place  Oregon,  Washington  and  Idaho  in 
another.  California  and  the  northern  Pacific  states  are  different  in 
many  respects.  Agriculturally,  California  was  first  a  cattle  country, 
next  a  wheat  country,  and  latterly  a  highly  specialized  farming  area, 
with  fruit  predominating.  The  state  has  a  number  of  distinct  areas 
in  the  outline  of  which  topography  has  been  an  important  factor. 
Its  interior  is  divided  into  two  great  valleys.  Of  these  the  northern, 
or  Sacramento  Valley,  is  largely  a  dry-farming  or  grazing  area.  The 
southern,  or  San  Joaquin  Valley,  is  becoming  a  vast  fruit  growing 
region,  in  which  citrous  fruit  and  raisins,  and  various  fruits  of  the 
north  temperate  zone  are  grown.  North  of  San  Francisco,  agricul¬ 
ture  is  a  question  of  dairying,  general  farming,  the  raising  of  wine 
grapes  and  of  some  other  fruits.  There  are  extensive  lumber  in¬ 
terests  in  this  part  of  the  state.  Southern  California  is  the  great 
citrous  fruit  center. 

Nothing  has  distinguished  California  agriculturally  more  than 
has  its  remarkable  development  of  cooperative  organization.  Each 
crop,  particularly  each  kind  of  fruit,  has  its  own  highly  developed 
cooperative  sales  organization,  and  these  are  among  the  most  suc¬ 
cessful  organizations  of  the  kind  in  the  country.  In  its  more 
favored  sections,  California’s  agriculture  has  been  to  an  unusual 
degree  prosperous.  Like  all  developing  country,  but  to  a  degree 
unlike  any  other,  California  has  been  the  paradise  of  the  booster 
and  the  land  speculator.  The  population  shows  elements  as  diver¬ 
sified  as  the  topography.  The  Mexican  contingent  centering  in  and 
around  Los  Angeles  numbers  at  least  250,000.  The  Japanese  ele¬ 
ment,  not  large  in  number,  being  only  2  per  cent,  of  the  total  popu¬ 
lation,  presents  one  of  the  most  acute  forms  of  racial  conflict  in  this 

34 


REGIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 


country.  Other  foreign  groups  are  increasing  in  numbers,  among 
them  Portuguese,  East  Indians,  Armenians.  The  American  stock 
is  by  no  means  all  of  one  strain.  People  from  the  Middle  West  and 
from  the  East  have  largely  developed  Southern  California.  Their 
influence  is  easily  distinguished  from  that  of  the  “Native  Sons.” 

The  county  has  perhaps  more  civic  influence  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  United  States.  The  towns,  also,  have  a  close  relation 
to  the  open  country  and  are  important  centers  for  rural  service. 
The  place  of  the  town  and  the  county  is  due  in  part  to  the  extensive 
advertising  which  has  been  carried  on;  the  exploiting  of  the  agri¬ 
cultural  area  of  a  given  town  has  unmistakably  strengthened  the 
bonds  of  association  between  the  town  and  the  contiguous  farming 
area. 

The  general  spirit  of  California  is  one  of  progress.  In  all  public 
improvements  it  has  taken  the  lead.  Its  social  life  has  the  charac¬ 
teristics  of  its  open  air  climate,  accentuating  the  freedom  and  initia¬ 
tive  of  the  West. 

Its  churches  are  not  so  highly  successful.  They  are  still  too 
much  under  the  Eastern  tradition  and  are  poorly  appreciated  by  the 
population.  The  unfavorable  contrast  between  the  state  of  religion 
and  the  state  of  public  improvement  generally  is  clearly  evidenced 
in  the  two  counties  which  are  the  theme  of  “Irrigation  and  Religion.” 

Washington  and  Oregon  differ  from  California  not  less  in  their 
general  characteristics  than  in  their  topography  and  climate.  The 
more  ample  rainfall  and  the  more  severe  winters  make  farming 
very  different  from  that  in  Southern  California.  There  is  general 
farming  and  dairying;  in  certain  regions  wheat-raising;  in  others 
the  growing  of  prunes,  apples  and  other  northern  fruits.  But  agri¬ 
culture  is  not  yet  of  leading  importance.  Among  all  industries, 
lumber  perhaps  would  stand  highest.  Oregon,  for  example,  is  the 
first  state  in  the  Union  in  its  amount  of  standing  timber.  It  has 
452,000,000,000  B.  M.  feet,  representing  one-fifth  of  all  the  standing 
timber  in  the  United  States.  It  ranks  third  among  the  states  in  the 
amount  of  its  annual  cut.  In  Washington  also  lumber  is  a  great 
economic  resource,  although  it  has  less  standing  timber.  In  these 
two  states  there  are  probably  350,000  lumberjacks. 

The  communities  vary  in  characteristics  according  to  their  dif¬ 
ferent  economic  backgrounds,  and  in  almost  any  considerable  area 
communities  may  be  found  representing  the  different  stages  of  eco¬ 
nomic  development.  For  example,  there  will  be  lumber  towns,  towns 
that  have  been  lumber  towns  and  are  trying  to  become  agricultural 
centers,  agricultural  centers  in  all  degrees  of  development,  as  well 

35 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


as  a  few  towns  whose  economic  future  is  uncertain.3  The  small 
town  in  the  West  is  ever  a  hopeful  project;  but  for  many  of  them, 
their  hopes,  which  are  almost  always  in  the  direction  of  urban 
achievement,  are  certain  to  be  unsuccessful. 

The  Northwest  has  the  same  degree  of  civic  and  institutional 
progressiveness  that  characterizes  California.  It  has  an  even  greater 
degree  of  social  plasticity.  Its  religious  institutions  are  perhaps 
somewhat  better  appreciated  but  are  not  essentially  in  a  different 
class  from  those  in  other  parts  of  the  West. 

3  See  “Church  and  Community  Survey  of  Pend  Oreille  Co.,  Wash,” 


36 


CHAPTER  II 


Some  National  Deductions 

r  I  ^HIS  chapter  presents  an  attempt  to  use  data  gathered  in  the 
field  survey  or  drawn  from  the  census  as  the  basis  of  cer- 
tain  interpretative  deductions  in  terms  of  the  entire  town 
and  country  area  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not,  in  a  strict  sense, 
an  analysis  of  such  data.  No  more  is  claimed  for  it  than  that  it 
presents  a  better-established  estimate  in  the  matters  treated  than  it 
has  hitherto  been  possible  to  make. 

The  facts  bearing  on  the  religious  situation  are  based  entirely 
upon  the  completed  surveys  of  179  counties  studied  by  the  Inter¬ 
church  World  Movement,  which  have  been  selected  out  of  nearly 
300  available  completely  surveyed  counties  in  order  to  give  a  proper 
geographical  distribution.  The  results  with  respect  to  these  179 
counties  were  checked  by  a  careful  and  exhaustive  re-survey  of 
twenty-six  counties.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that,  taken 
as  a  whole,  the  available  data  are  representative  of  rural  religious 
conditions. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  present  chapter,  accurate  data  were 
obtained  from  the  census  and  other  sources  as  to  the  number  and 
distribution  of  population  by  states  and  regions.  Ratios  were  estab¬ 
lished  between  each  region  as  a  whole  and  the  counties  within  it 
which  were  surveyed  on  the  basis  of  the  total  population,  distributed 
according  to  type  of  community.  These  ratios  were  used  in  relation 
to  other  facts  established  in  the  survey  to  produce  the  particular 
estimates  which  are  here  presented. 

While  the  results  cannot  be  regarded  as  wholly  free  from  error, 
it  is  believed  that  they  are  substantially  correct  and  give  a  rea¬ 
sonably  trustworthy  presentation  of  the  existing  situation. 

There  should  be  a  word  of  explanation  as  to  the  relation  between 
the  population  figures  given  here  and  also  in  the  statistical  sum¬ 
mary  of  this  series,  and  the  figures  in  the  United  States  census 
returns  for  1920.  The  census  returns  are  used  in  every  case;  but 
the  method  of  using  them  is  such  that  there  may  seem  to  be  certain 
discrepancies  which  do  not  in  fact  exist.  In  five  particulars  there 
is  a  difference  of  method  between  the  survey  and  the  census  which 

37 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


should  be  taken  into  account.  First,  the  census  defines  as  rural 
all  population  living  outside  of  incorporated  places  of  2,500  or  more. 
The  survey  deals  with  what  is  called  the  town  and  country  area,  and 
this  is  defined  as  including  all  population  living  outside  of  incor¬ 
porated  places  of  5,000  or  more. 

Second,  with  certain  exceptions  for  the  New  England  states,  the 
census  regards  the  population  of  all  unincorporated  places  as  rural. 
The  population  of  unincorporated  places  is  not  separately  noted  in 
the  census  returns.  In  the  survey  no  distinction  is  made  between 
an  incorporated  and  an  unincorporated  place.  All  places  noted  in 
standard  atlases  are  combined  according  to  certain  size-groupings. 
It,  therefore,  follows  that  the  number  of  places  of  a  specified  size 
and  the  total  population  included  therein,  as  reported  in  the  survey, 
would  exceed  the  number  and  population  of  such  places  as  reported 
in  the  census ;  but  this  difference  would  be  balanced  by  the  cor¬ 
responding  difference  in  the  total  of  the  unclassified  rural  popula¬ 
tion,  so  that  the  total  population  reported  for  a  given  state  or  area 
remains  unchanged.  The  population  figures  for  unincorporated 
places  were  obtained  from  the  best  available  sources  outside  the 
census. 

Third,  the  census,  in  noting  the  population  of  incorporated 
places,  applies  to  each  such  place  the  terminology  in  local  use  as 
fixed  by  the  various  state  laws ;  that  is,  the  use  of  the  terms  city, 
town,  borough,  etc.,  is  not  in  any  way  indicative  of  the  size  of  the 
place.  The  survey  has  used  an  arbitrary  and  uniform  terminology ; 
that  is,  it  defines  as  a  city  any  place  over  5,000 ;  as  a  town,  any 
place  from  2,500  up  to  5,000;  as  a  village,  any  place  from  250  up 
to  2,500;  as  a  hamlet,  any  place  from  25  up  to  250;  the  remaining 
population  being  classified  as  open  country. 

Fourth,  the  census,  of  course,  takes  no  account  of  communities 
in  the  social  sense,  but  deals  wholly  with  civil  divisions.  In  the 
survey  no  account  is  taken  of  the  minor  civil  divisions,  the  analysis 
of  population  being  based  on  the  concept  of  the  community  as  ex¬ 
plained  in  each  of  the  regional  volumes  of  this  series.  For  example, 
a  statement  to  the  effect  that  the  town  communities  include  a  cer¬ 
tain  population  means  that  the  stated  population  is  the  total  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  towns  plus  the  population  of  their  adjacent  and  con¬ 
stituent  rural  areas. 

Fifth,  the  regional  divisions  used  by  the  census  are  entirely 
different  from  those  used  by  the  survey. 


38 


SOME  NATIONAL  DEDUCTIONS 


Distribution  of  Population 

The  3,049  counties  in  the  United  States  have  in  them  1,513  cities 
of  more  than  5,000  population  which,  together  with  the  District 
of  Columbia,  include  46.8  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  of  con¬ 
tinental  United  States.  The  Colonial  Region  is  the  most  over¬ 
whelmingly  urban,  with  virtually  72  per  cent,  of  its  population  in 
such  cities.  This  is  followed  by  the  Pacific  Region  with  57  per 
cent,  and  the  Middle  West  with  54  per  cent.  In  no  other  region  is 
the  proportion  as  great  as  a  third,  varying  from  23  per  cent,  in  the 
South  to  30  per  cent,  on  the  Range.  In  every  region  the  urban 
population  is  a  steadily  increasing  proportion  of  the  total.  The 
town  and  country  population  as  defined  in  this  survey  aggregates 
55,999,970  or  53.2  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  of  continental 
United  States. 

The  total  number  of  communities  within  the  town  and  country 
area  is  73,230.  Of  these,  20,505  are  strictly  open  country  com¬ 
munities  ;  that  is,  they  are  communities  which  do  not  include  within 
their  bounds  any  hamlet,  village,  or  town.  There  are  52,725  centers 
of  town  and  country  population  of  sufficient  importance  to  appear 
on  a  good  standard  map  and  having  each  a  population  of  from 
25  to  5,000.  Of  these,  1,322  are  towns.  Their  average  population 
is  3,464  and  they  include  all  told  8.2  per  cent,  of  the  town  and 
country  population.  The  villages  number  16,981.  They  have  an 
average  population  of  675  and  include  20.5  per  cent,  of  the  total 
town  and  country  population.  The  hamlets  number  34,422,  have 
an  average  population  of  121,  and  include  7.4  per  cent,  of  the  total 
town  and  country  population.  This  leaves  an  open  country  popula¬ 
tion  of  35,793,333,  or  63.9  per  cent,  of  the  total  town  and  country 
population.  This  latter  figure  exceeds  the  total  population  living 
on  farms  within  the  town  and  country  area,  as  reported  by  the  cen¬ 
sus,  by  about  four  and  a  half  millions.  This  excess  may  be  regarded 
as  accounted  for  by  the  scattered  populations  living  outside  of  the 
centers  of  population  on  patches  of  land  too  small  to  be  classified  by 
the  census  as  farms,  or  in  the  little  cross-roads  centers  of  less  than 
25  population,  of  which  there  is  a  very  large  number. 

The  towns  follow  the  cities.  They  are  relatively  most  important 
in  those  regions  where  the  urban  interest  is  the  greatest.  Thus  the 
Colonial  Region  has  15  per  cent,  of  its  town  and  country  population 
living  in  towns;  and  the  Pacific  Region  has  13  per  cent.,  as  com¬ 
pared  with  the  national  average  of  8  per  cent.  The  strongholds 
of  the  village  are  the  corn  belt  and  the  grain  belt,  The  Middle 

39 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


West,  the  Northwest  and  the  Prairie  Regions  have  proportionately 
the  greatest  number  of  villages;  the  South  has  the  fewest.  In  the 
Colonial  Region  the  villages  have  the  highest  average  population  and 
enroll  a  larger  proportion  of  the  town  and  country  population  than 
in  any  other  region.  This  is  owing  to  industry,  not  to  agriculture. 
The  hamlets  have  a  rather  uniform  frequency.  They  are  propor¬ 
tionately  most  numerous  in  the  Southwest  and  least  so  in  the 
Pacific  and  Southern  Regions ;  but  in  the  Colonial  Region  the  ham¬ 
lets,  as  was  the  case  with  the  villages,  have  the  largest  average 
population  and  include  the  highest  regional  percentage  of  the  total 
town  and  country  population.  The  proportion  of  the  open  country 
population  to  the  total  town  and  country  population  varies  widely  by 
regions.  It  is  highest  in  the  South,  where  it  is  73.4  per  cent.,  and 
lowest  in  the  Colonial  Region,  where  it  is  45.2  per  cent. 

Seven-tenths  of  all  open  country  communities  are  in  the  South. 
The  type  of  agriculture  and  the  type  of  social  life  have  combined 
to  make  for  a  multiplicity  of  small  open  country  social  units.  In 
this  region  46  per  cent,  of  all  the  town  and  country  communities 
are  of  the  open  country  type.  The  Pacific  Region  is  the  only  other 
region  in  which  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  communities  are  of 
this  type.  The  Middle  West  has  the  fewest  open  country  com¬ 
munities,  representing  only  8  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  com¬ 
munities.  Of  all  the  town  and  country  communities  1.8  per  cent, 
center  upon  towns ;  23.2  per  cent,  upon  villages,  and  47  per  cent, 
upon  hamlets,  while  28  per  cent,  are  strictly  open  country.  The 
total  open  country  population  is,  of  course,  not  all  resident  within 
open  country  communities  but  is  distributed  among  the  various 
types  of  communities;  and,  in  addition,  a  part  of  it  is  attached  to 
the  communities  of  cities  of  more  than  5,000  population.  Of  the 
total  open  country  population,  2.9  per  cent,  live  within  the  bounds 
of  town  communities ;  29.4  per  cent,  in  village  communities ;  37.5 
per  cent,  in  hamlet  communities ;  22.4  per  cent,  in  open  country 
communities  and  7.8  per  cent,  in  city  communities.  These  propor¬ 
tions,  of  course,  vary  by  regions.  Thus,  in  the  South,  46  per  cent, 
of  the  open  country  population  is  in  open  country  communities, 
while  in  the  Middle  West  less  than  2  per  cent,  is  in  such  com¬ 
munities. 

On  the  average,  565  open  country  residents  are  included  within 
each  town  community ;  620  in  each  village  community ;  390  in  each 
hamlet  community  and  391  in  each  open  country  community.  Thus 
the  total  average  population  of  a  town  community  is  4,229;  of  a 

40 


SOME  NATIONAL  DEDUCTIONS 


village  community  1,295;  of  a  hamlet  community  511  and  of  an 
open  country  community  391. 

Of  the  total  town  and  country  population  10  per  cent,  is  resident 
in  town  communities;  39.3  per  cent,  in  village  communities;  31.4 
per  cent,  in  hamlet  communities ;  14.3  per  cent,  in  open  country 
communities  and  5  per  cent,  in  city  communities. 

The  Religious  Situation  1 

The  total  number  of  town  and  country  churches  is  101,477.  Of 
these,  5.6  per  cent,  are  located  in  towns ;  30.7  per  cent,  in  villages ; 
63.7  per  cent,  in  hamlets  or  in  the  open  country.  No  distinction  will 
be  made  between  churches  in  hamlets  and  those  in  the  open  country 
and  they  will  be  together  designated  as  country  churches.  The 
greatest  preponderance  of  country  churches  is  in  the  South  which 
has  more  than  one-half  of  the  whole  number;  83  per  cent,  of  all 
the  town  and  country  churches  in  the  South  are  in  the  country.  At 
the  other  extreme  is  the  Middle  West,  where  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  town  and  country  churches  are  in  villages. 

Approximately  one-seventh  of  all  the  town  and  country  com¬ 
munities,  including  9  per  cent,  of  the  town  and  country  population, 
are  without  Protestant  churches.  There  are  33,808  other  communi¬ 
ties,  or  42  per  cent,  of  the  total  number,  that  have  churches  but  do 
not  have  within  them  any  resident  pastors.  There  are  16,258  other 
communities  that  have  both  churches  and  resident  pastors,  but  which 
do  not  have  in  them  any  full-time  resident  pastors.  Thus  only  21 
per  cent,  of  all  the  communities,  including  28  per  cent,  of  all  the 
town  and  country  population,  do  have  within  their  borders  churches 
with  full-time  resident  pastors.  The  Range  has  proportionately 
the  largest  number  of  communities  without  churches,  more  than 
half  of  its  communities  being  so  situated.  The  Pacific  Region  is 
next  and  the  Northwest  Region  third.  All  the  other  regions  are 
below  the  general  average.  The  Middle  West  is  the  best  supplied 
with  churches,  only  6  per  cent,  of  its  communities  being  without 
them. 

Out  of  every  ten  town  and  country  churches  there  are  only  three 
which  do  not  have  to  share  their  pastors  with  other  churches,  and 
half  of  these  have  to  share  them  with  other  occupations.  Thus 

1To  a  remarkable  degree  the  estimates  here  set  down  tally  not  only  with 
the  179  counties  but  with  the  total  survey  results  of  the  Interchurch  World 
Movement  as  tabulated  for  fifteen  facts  of  major  importance  in  the  field  of 
Town  and  Country. 


41 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

only  15  per  cent,  of  all  town  and  country  churches  have  full-time 
resident  pastors.  Twenty-six  per  cent,  of  the  churches  are  on  two- 
point  circuits,  19  per  cent,  on  three-point  circuits  and  25  per  cent, 
on  circuits  of  four  points  or  more.  This  prevalence  of  the  circuit 
system  necessarily  deprives  most  churches  of  the  advantage  of  a 
resident  pastor.  In  addition  to  the  15  per  cent,  having  full-time 
resident  pastors,  only  18  per  cent,  have  part-time  resident  pastors. 
Fifty-four  per  cent,  have  non-resident  pastors  and  13  per  cent,  are 
without  pastors.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  town, 
village  and  country  churches  in  the  matter  of  pastoral  service. 
Thus,  three-fourths  of  the  town  churches  have  either  full-time  or 
part-time  resident  pastors,  as  compared  with  61  per  cent,  of  the 
village  churches  and  only  16  per  cent,  of  the  country  churches.  The 
proportion  of  pastorless  churches  is  about  the  same  in  each  group. 
There  is  considerable  difference  regionally  in  these  matters.  In 
general,  the  highest  proportion  of  churches  with  resident  pastors 
is  in  the  Prairie  and  Pacific  Regions.  The  lowest  proportion  is  in 
the  South.  There  are  similar  variations  in  the  proportion  of 
churches  on  circuits. 

The  total  membership  of  all  town  and  country  churches  is 
8,969,603,  or  16  per  cent,  of  the  total  town  and  country  population. 
Seventy-one  and  three-tenths  per  cent,  of  these  are  classified  as 
active  resident  members,  that  is,  more  than  one-fourth  are  either 
non-resident  or  non-active.  Eleven  and  five-tenths  per  cent,  of  those 
making  up  this  membership  are  attached  to  town  churches ;  38.8 
per  cent,  to  village  churches  and  49.7  per  cent,  to  country  churches. 
The  town  and  village  churches,  of  course,  include  many  members 
drawn  from  the  country  areas.  The  church  members  actually  resid¬ 
ing  in  towns  represent  24.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  town  population; 
those  residing  in  villages  represent  22.8  per  cent,  of  the  total  village 
population ;  those  residing  in  the  hamlets  and  the  open  country  rep¬ 
resent  13.1  per  cent,  of  the  total  hamlet  and  open  country  popula¬ 
tion.  This  latter  percentage  is  low  primarily  because  most  of  the 
communities  without  churches  are  country  communities.  The  coun¬ 
try  areas  which  are  effectively  served  by  churches  generally  show 
a  higher  proportion  of  their  population  in  the  church  membership 
than  do  the  villages  and  towns ;  but  the  country  population  as  a 
whole  is  not  so  well  evangelized  as  is  the  rest  of  the  town  and 
country  population. 

The  town  churches  generally  show  a  larger  proportion  of  their 
membership  classified  as  resident  and  active,  and  the  country 
churches  the  lowest  percentage.  The  figures  are  75.7  per  cent,  for 

42 


SOME  NATIONAL  DEDUCTIONS 


town  churches,  75.6  per  cent,  for  village  churches  and  67.0  per  cent, 
for  the  country  churches.  The  town  churches  have  an  average  net 
active  membership  of  144;  the  village  churches  of  84  and  the  coun¬ 
try  churches  of  46.  The  general  average  is  63. 

The  total  number  of  ministers  serving  town  and  country  churches 
is  60,127.  There  are,  therefore,  1.7  churches  for  every  minister. 
Slightly  less  than  two-thirds  of  this  number  give  their  full  time  to 
the  ministry,  the  remainder  combining  the  ministry  with  some  other 
occupation  such  as  teaching  or  farming.  Of  the  total  number  of 
ministers  44.5  per  cent,  serve  but  one  church  each ;  26.6  per  cent, 
serve  each  two  churches;  14.5  per  cent.,  three  churches;  14.4  per 
cent.,  four  or  more  churches.  It  would  require  34,181  more  min¬ 
isters  giving  their  full  time  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  to  provide 
one  for  each  community  if  they  were  evenly  distributed. 

The  average  annual  salary  for  all  town  and  country  ministers  is 
$1,400.  In  arriving  at  this  figure  an  allowance  of  $250  a  year  was 
made,  in  addition  to  the  cash  salary,  where  a  parsonage  was  pro¬ 
vided  rent  free,  this  sum  being  roughly  equivalent  to  the  rental  value 
of  the  parsonage.  On  this  basis  the  average  salary  can  be  stated  as 
the  equivalent  of  $1,150  cash  and  free  use  of  house.  The  modal 
average  is  $50  higher  than  the  arithmetical  average.  Practically 
55  per  cent,  of  all  ministers  are  furnished  with  parsonages. 

Of  all  town  churches  88  per  cent,  have  Sunday  schools  attached 
to  them;  89  per  cent,  of  all  village  churches  have  Sunday  schools, 
and  67  per  cent,  of  all  country  churches.  There  are  in  all  75,928 
Sunday  schools  attached  to  churches.  In  addition,  there  are  2,165 
separate  Sunday  schools  or  a  total  of  78,093  in  all.  In  the  Sunday 
schools  which  are  attached  to  the  churches  the  aggregate  enrollment 
is  approximately  6,500,000  or  about  73  per  cent,  of  the  church 
membership.  The  total  Sunday  school  enrollment  of  all  Sunday 
schools  is  about  100,000  greater.  The  average  enrollment  of  a  town 
school  is  173;  of  a  village  school,  103;  of  a  country  school,  64;  the 
general  average  being  86.  The  average  enrollment  of  separate 
Sunday  schools  is  48. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  there  is  still  a  great  task  of  church 
extension  in  rural  America.  We  need  more  churches,  more  Sunday 
schools,  more  ministers.  This  need  is  obviously  related  to  our  need 
of  a  better  distribution  of  our  existing  church  strength — of  church 
organizations  and  ministerial  personnel.  There  is  need  also  for 
more  effective  methods  of  operation. 


48 


CHAPTER  III 


The  General  Status  of  the  Church  Enterprise 

THIS  chapter  is  limited  to  a  consideration  of  the  present 
status  of  the  town  and  country  church  with  respect  to 
organization,  leadership  and  membership,  and  to  an  analysis 
of  the  factors  which  seem  to  determine  its  degree  of  evangelistic 
success.  This  view  of  the  church  is  accepted  without  minimizing 
in  any  way  the  importance  of  the  church  as  a  social  and  community 
institution,  and  especially  without  assuming  that  any  statistical 
measurement  of  its  influence  can  be  regarded  as  a  complete  index 
of  the  importance  of  its  contribution.  Most  people  think  of  the 
church  as  an  organization  seeking  members  on  certain  conditions 
and  for  certain  purposes.  Even  the  church  itself  is  apt  to  measure 
its  success  in  relation  to  that  effort. 

The  data  for  this  study  are  drawn  from  179  counties  which  are 
located  in  forty-four  states  and  make  up  about  6  per  cent,  of  all 
the  agricultural  counties  in  the  United  States.  They  have  a  total 
town  and  country  population  (exclusive  of  the  Negro  population 
of  southern  counties)  of  2,572,335,  living  in  2,356  different  com¬ 
munities.  This  is  about  4.6  per  cent,  of  the  total  town  and  country 
population  of  the  United  States.  Thirteen  per  cent,  of  this  popu¬ 
lation  is  to  be  found  in  towns,  26  per  cent,  in  villages,  and  61  per 
cent,  in  hamlets  and  the  open  country.  For  certain  particulars,  use 
will  be  made  of  detailed  data  drawn  from  the  twenty-six  counties 
which  were  more  intensively  surveyed.  These  twenty-six  counties 
are  thoroughly  typical  of  the  whole  number,  their  averages  in  almost 
all  items  approximating  the  averages  for  the  179.  There  is  every 
reason  to  assume  that  this  body  of  data  is  reliably  representative 
of  conditions  generally  in  the  town  and  country  areas  of  the  United 
States  as  a  whole. 

Distribution  of  Churches  and  Ministers 

Protestant  Christianity  is  represented  in  these  179  counties  by 
5,552  churches  (exclusive  of  colored  churches)  served  by  3,353 

44 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


ministers.  The  churches  and  ministers  are  distributed  regionally 
as  follows: 


Table  I 

REGIONAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  CHURCHES  BY  TYPES  OF 

COMMUNITIES 


No.  of  .  Number  of  Churches 


Counties 

Region 

Town 

Village 

Country 

Total 

20 

Colonial  . 

47 

386 

427 

860 

70 

South  . 

135 

519 

1,761 

2,415 

15 

Southwest  .... 

15 

92 

183 

290 

10 

Northwest  . . . 

25 

65 

70 

160 

23 

Middle  West 

102 

398 

646 

1,146 

2 

Prairie  . 

— 

25 

31 

56 

26 

Range  . 

42 

133 

100 

275 

13 

Pacific  . 

69 

170 

111 

350 

179 

Total  . 

Per  cent,  of 
total  number 

435 

1,788 

3,329 

5,552 

of  churches. . . . 

7.8 

32.2 

60. 

100. 

Table  II 

REGIONAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MINISTERS 


Region 

Total 
No.  of 
Churches 

Total 

No.  of 
Ministers 

Ministers  Giving 
Only  Part  Time 
No.  Per  Cent. 

Colonial  . . 

860 

511 

105 

20.7 

South  . . 

2,415 

1,357 

654 

48.1 

Southwest  . 

290 

169 

83 

49.1 

Northwest  . 

160 

107 

8 

7.5 

Middle  West  . 

1,146 

714 

164 

23. 

Prairie  . 

56 

43 

12 

27.9 

Range  . 

275 

196 

33 

16.8 

Pacific  . . 

350 

256 

45 

17.6 

Total  . 

5,552 

3,353 

1,104 

32.9 

It  is  obvious  at  once  that,  assuming  an  equitable  distribution  of 
these  churches,  the  counties  studied  are  adequately  churched.  For 
the  whole  number  of  counties  there  is  on  the  average  one  church 
for  every  463  inhabitants.  There  is  a  wide  variation,  however,  both 
between  counties  and  between  communities  within  the  same  county 
in  church  frequency.  The  open  country  communities  have  the  most 
churches  proportionately  to  their  population,  and  the  town  com¬ 
munities  have  the  fewest,  the  village  and  hamlet  communities  being 
about  intermediate  between  the  two  extremes.  In  the  total  number 
of  town  and  country  churches  per  county,  the  variation  is  from 
one  to  120.  In  town  churches,  for  counties  which  contain  towns, 
the  variation  is  from  one  to  eighteen.  In  village  churches,  for 

45 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

counties  which  have  villages,  the  variation  is  from  zero  to  forty- 
five  (five  counties  containing  villages,  all  of  them  west  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  have  no  village  churches).  In  country  churches,  for  coun¬ 
ties  which  contain  an  open  country  population,  as  is  the  case  with  all 
but  two  or  three  of  them,  the  variation  is  from  zero  to  117  (twelve 
counties  which  contain  country  populations  have  no  country 
churches).  In  the  proportion  of  churches  to  people,  irrespective 
of  location,  the  variation  in  county  averages  is  from  one  church  for 
every  163  to  one  church  for  11,089.  The  average  as  above  stated 
is  one  for  every  463.  The  mode  is  one  to  every  251  to  500.  The 
median  is  one  church  to  423  people. 

The  regional  average  varies  from  one  church  for  317  inhabitants 
in  the  South  to  one  for  every  1,219  in  the  Range.  Four  regions, 
the  South,  Prairie,  Colonial,  and  Middle  West,  in  that  order  have 
more  churches  in  proportion  to  population  than  the  average.  Four 
regions,  the  Northwest,  Southwest,  Pacific,  and  Range,  in  that 
order,  have  fewer  churches  than  the  average.  While  there  is  a  con¬ 
siderable  variation  within  regions  according  to  the  different  con¬ 
ditions  obtaining  in  different  counties,  in  general  most  of  the  counties 
within  each  region  approach  the  regional  average. 

The  ratio  of  churches  to  population  varies  materially  according 
to  the  density  of  population.  In  general,  the  counties  with  the 
highest  density  of  population  tend  to  have  the  most  churches  per 
unit  of  population.  Thus  counties  with  a  density  not  exceeding  ten 
per  square  mile  have  one  church  per  701. 

Counties  with  density  of  11-20  have  1  church  per  460 

Counties  with  density  of  21-30  have  1  church  per  422 

Counties  with  density  of  31-40  have  1  church  per  414 

Counties  with  density  over  40  have  1  church  per  405 

In  part  this  tells  the  same  story  as  the  variations  by  regions,  but 
not  wholly.  Four  regions,  the  Range,  Pacific,  Prairie,  and  South¬ 
west  have  a  low  average  density  of  population,  and  they  have  on  the 
average  more  people  per  church.  The  South,  which  has  the  most 
churches  proportionately  of  any  region,  has  its  counties  rather  evenly 
distributed  as  far  as  density  is  concerned.  Thirty-two  out  of  the 
seventy  counties  surveyed  in  the  South  have  a  density  of  not  more 
than  twenty  per  square  mile ;  but  only  seven  counties  out  of  seventy 
have  on  the  average  more  than  500  people  per  church. 

Too  much  significance  should  not  be  attached  to  relative  density 
as  a  factor  in  church  distribution,  although  it  is  a  likely  explanation 
in  many  cases.  Perhaps  40  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of 

46 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


counties  depart  more  or  less  markedly  from  the  rule  suggested 
above,  i.e.,  their  actual  proportion  of  churches  to  people  varies 
sharply  from  the  proportion  of  the  group  to  which  they  belong  by 
reason  of  population  density. 

It  is  probable  that  neither  density  of  population  nor  relative 
economic  prosperity  offers  any  final  satisfactory  explanation  of  the 
variation  in  the  proportionate  number  of  churches.  There  would 
seem  to  be  a  number  of  different  factors  which  have  to  be  taken 
into  consideration,  of  which  the  most  important  are  these: 

(a)  The  membership  strength  of  non-evangelical  churches , 
chiefly,  so  far  as  the  counties  surveyed  are  concerned,  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  the  Church  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints.  This 
non-evangelical  membership  is  relatively  strongest  in  the  Range,  the 
Colonial  area,  the  Southwest  and  the  Pacific,  and  after  them  in  the 
Middle  West  and  the  Northwest.  A  strong  non-evangelical  mem¬ 
bership  tends  to  reduce  the  proportionate  number  of  Protestant 
churches  by  reducing  the  number  of  their  potential  constituency. 

(b)  Sharpness  of  differences  between  Protestant  denominations , 
and  the  degree  of  denominational  rivalry  existing.  This  is  a  factor 
in  all  areas,  but  it  is  most  developed  in  the  South,  the  Colonial  area 
and  the  Middle  West.  An  intensity  of  denominational  rivalry  tends 
to  increase  the  proportionate  number  of  Protestant  churches. 

(c)  The  frequency  and  the  average  size  of  the  community  units, 
plus  such  factors  as  the  condition  of  the  roads  and  the  general 
ease  of  communication.  Thus  the  South  has  on  the  average  more 
communities  and  smaller  communities  per  unit  of  population. 
There  is  a  greater  tenacity  to  neighborhood  life.  The  Colonial  and 
Middle  West  areas  are  comparable  to  the  South  in  this  matter.  The 
restriction  of  the  community  unit  and  the  development  of  neighbor¬ 
hood  life  tend  to  increase  the  proportionate  number  of  churches. 

(d)  Where  the  density  of  population  approaches  the  extreme  in 
either  direction  it  operates  more  invariably  to  affect  the  number  of 
churches.  For  example,  a  very  sparse  population  has  difficulty  in 
assembling  at  any  point  enough  people  to  establish  and  maintain  a 
church.  The  possibilities  of  duplication  of  churches  are  reduced 
and  the  areas  which  have  no  churches  at  all  are  more  extended. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  concentration  of  a  large  number  of  people 
within  a  small  area  makes  their  division  along  the  lines  of  their 
denominational  preference  easier  and  reduces  the  areas  which  are 
unsupplied  with  churches. 

(e)  Factors  inherent  in  the  religious  traditions  of  the  section 

47 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


have  a  direct  importance.  Thus  in  the  South  and  in  parts  of  the 
Colonial  and  Middle  West  areas  the  religious  tradition  has  estab¬ 
lished  many  small  churches,  frequently  putting  churches  of  the  same 
denomination  near  together  and  developing  an  extensive  circuit 
system.  Such  a  practice  inevitably  tends  to  increase  the  proportion¬ 
ate  number  of  churches. 

(f)  In  those  sections  where  the  church  is  more  securely  estab¬ 
lished  and  where  it  is  most  deeply  rooted  in  the  affections  of  the 
people,  as  in  the  South  and  in  the  Colonial  and  Middle  West  areas, 
probably  in  that  order,  there  tend  to  be  more  churches  propor¬ 
tionately. 

(g)  It  is  not  apparent  that  the  economic  factor  has  any  directly 
traceable  effect  in  most  places  on  the  number  of  churches.  Cer¬ 
tainly  in  the  older  parts  of  the-  country  it  has  not  operated  to  retard 
the  rate  of  their  establishment.  It  almost  appears,  in  many  dis¬ 
tricts,  that  the  fewer  churches  a  county  is  economically  able  to  afford 
the  more  it  is  apt  to  have;  but  the  reasons  for  that  are  not  the 
economic  reasons.  In  the  newer  parts  of  the  country,  however,  the 
economic  factor  undoubtedly  has  had  some  effect  in  determining 
the  rate  of  church  establishment. 

While  it  is  obvious  that  there  are,  taking  everything  into  account, 
an  ample  number  of  churches  adequately  to  serve  the  entire  popu¬ 
lation  of  these  179  counties,  their  distribution  geographically  leaves 
a  good  deal  to  be  desired.  Some  years  ago  a  consensus  of  opinion 
was  obtained  among  rural  church  leaders  as  to  the  ideal  ratio  of 
churches  to  population,  and  the  ratio  of  one  church  to  every  1,000 
people  was  agreed  upon  as  the  norm.  It  has  already  been  noted 
that  in  these  counties  as  a  whole  the  average,  the  mode,  and  the 
median  are  all  far  removed  from  that  norm,  there  being  more  than 
twice  as  many  churches  as  that  ratio  would  require.  Only  six 
counties  out  of  the  179,  in  fact,  approximate  the  norm,  i.e.,  have  an 
average  number  of  persons  per  church  that  comes  within  a  hundred 
of  the  suggested  average  one  way  or  the  other.  Twenty-seven 
counties  have,  by  a  margin  of  more  than  100  persons,  more  people 
per  church  than  the  norm,  and  146  have  fewer  people  per  church. 
One  hundred  and  eight  counties,  or  60  per  cent,  of  the  whole  num¬ 
ber,  have  more  than  twice  as  many  churches,  and  twenty-seven,  or 
15  per  cent.,  have  more  than  four  times  as  many  churches  as  this 
suggested  standard  calls  for.  On  the  other  hand,  seven  counties 
are  undeniably  underchurched.  These  all  have  more  than  3,000 
persons  for  every  Protestant  church,  and  they  are  all  counties  with 
a  low  density  of  population,  which  means  a  widely  scattered  popu- 

48 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


lation  which  would  really  require  more  churches  than  the  average 
for  adequate  service. 

Further,  in  counties  with  an  ample  number  of  churches,  if  they 
were  properly  distributed,  there  are  often  many  communities  which 
contain  no  Protestant  churches  and  whose  people  do  not  live  within 
convenient  access  to  one.  These  underchurched  communities  are 
usually,  though  not  always,  comparatively  small  and  isolated.  Fifty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  counties  have  each  one  such  community  or 
more.  Their  total  number  is  467,  or  almost  exactly  one-fifth  of  the 
whole  number  of  town  and  country  communities,  and  they  contain 
7.7  per  cent,  of  all  the  town  and  country  population.  These  com¬ 
munities  are  found  in  all  the  regions,  but  the  Middle  West  has 
relatively  the  fewest,  and  the  Range  relatively  the  most.  The  num¬ 
ber  and  per  cent,  of  communities  and  the  per  cent,  of  all  town  and 
country  population  without  Protestant  churches  is  shown  by  regions 
in  the  following  table : 

Table  III 

COMMUNITIES  WITHOUT  PROTESTANT  CHURCHES 


Per  cent,  of  Town 
Per  cent,  of  and 

Region  Number  All  Communities  Country  Population 

Colonial  .  30  7.5  2.3 

South  .  ,  123  14.5  4.8 

Southwest .  13  13.5  7.1 

Northwest .  29  29.6  7.6 

Middle  West  .  21  6.1  2.1 

Prairie  .  3  13.0  8.1 

Range  .  156  52.0  22.3 

Pacific  .  92  37.2  10.4 


Total  .  467  19.9  7.7 


Twelve  counties  with  an  aggregate  country  population  of  68,674 
have  no  country  churches  whatsoever.  With  one  exception  these 
counties  are  all  in  the  Range  or  in  west  Texas.  They  are  all 
counties  in  which  the  church  is  very  insecurely  established.  Prob¬ 
ably  the  country  population  in  them  is  not  served  much  less  ade¬ 
quately  than  the  town  or  village  population.  Five  counties  with  an 
aggregate  village  population  of  19,415,  have  no  village  churches. 
Two  of  these  are  on  the  Range,  two  in  west  Texas,  and  one  is  in 
the  Ozarks ;  and  they  also  are  counties  in  which  the  church  has 
rather  a  low  estate.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  there  is  still  a  con¬ 
siderable  task  of  church  extension  in  rural  America. 

These  5,552  churches  are  served  by  3,353  ministers,  an  average 

49 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


of  nearly  1.7  churches  per  minister,  and  of  one  minister  for  every 
767  people.  Nearly  one-third  of  all  the  ministers  combine  some 
other  occupation  with  the  work  of  the  ministry,  the  proportion 
varying  from  7.5  per  cent,  in  the  Northwest  to  nearly  50  per  cent, 
in  the  South  and  Southwest.  (See  Table  No.  II  on  page  45.)  The 
following  computations  are  on  the  basis  of  the  whole  number  of 
ministers.  There  is  a  similar  variation  by  counties  and  regions  in 
the  proportionate  number  of  ministers  to  population  as  of  churches ; 
and  it  follows  much  the  same  line,  but  with  this  qualification — the 
general  tendency  is  for  the  supply  of  ministers  to  be  relatively 
greater  as  the  supply  of  churches  is  relatively  less.  That  is  to  say, 
as  the  proportion  of  churches  to  population  becomes  smaller,  the 
proportion  of  ministers  to  population  moves  in  the  same  direction 
but  at  a  lower  rate,  and  the  number  of  churches  and  the  number 
of  ministers  approach  nearer  to  a  parity.  This  may  be  illustrated 
by  dividing  the  counties  into  four  groups ;  those  which  have  250 
persons  or  fewer  per  church,  of  which  there  are  twenty-seven;  those 
with  251-500  persons  per  church,  of  which  there  are  eighty-one; 
those  with  501-750  persons  per  church,  of  which  there  are  twenty- 
six;  and  those  with  more  than  750  persons  per  church,  of  which 
there  are  forty-five.  The  results  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 

Table  IV 

PROPORTION  OF  MINISTERS  TO  POPULATION  COMPARED 
WITH  PROPORTION  OF  MINISTERS  TO  CHURCHES 

Counties  Having  a  Population  of 
^  250  or  251-500  501-750  Over  750 

Fewer  Per  Per  Per  Per 


Average  Church  Church  Church  Church 

Population  per  church  .  200  357  571  1,215 

Index  No . . .  100  178  285  607 

Population  per  minister  .  366  618  863  1,617 

Index  No .  100  169  236  442 

Churches  per  minister .  1.8  1.7  1.5  1.3 


It  will  be  noted  that  whereas  the  ratio  of  churches  to  population 
in  the  groups  at  the  two  extremes  shows  a  contrast  as  of  607  to 
100  (as  indicated  by  the  index  numbers),  the  ratio  of  ministers  to 
population  in  the  same  groups  shows  a  contrasting  ratio  as  of  442 
to  100.  The  proportion  of  ministers  to  churches  increases  as  the 
proportion  of  churches  to  people  decreases.  The  proportion  of 
ministers  to  people  decreases  as  the  proportion  of  churches  to  people 
decreases,  but  at  a  much  slower  rate. 

50 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 
The  same  tendency  may  be  differently  shown  by  regions. 

Table  V 

REGIONAL  COMPARISON  OF  NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  PER 
CHURCH  AND  PER  MINISTER 


Average  Number  of  Persons  Average  Number  of 
Region  Per  Church  Per  Minister  Churches  Per  Minister 

Colonial  .  434  730  1.7 

South  .  317  564  1.8 

Southwest  .  592  1,016  1.7 

Northwest  .  568  850  1.5 

Middle  West  ...  447  718  1.6 

Prairie  .  384  500  1.3 

Range  .  1,209  1,697  1.4 

Pacific  .  872  1,193  1.4 


Total .  463  767  1.7 


In  part  at  least  this  tendency  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  a  relatively  small  number  of  churches  generally  argues  a  scat¬ 
tered  population,  so  that  churches  of  the  same  denomination  are 
apt  to  be  more  widely  spaced.  This  increases  the  difficulty  of 
forming  circuits  and  necessitates  a  larger  number  of  single-point 
charges.  In  part  this  illustrates  an  economic  fact.  It  is  easier 
and  cheaper  to  maintain  a  church  than  it  is  to  maintain  a  pas¬ 
tor.  No  economic  pressure  can  effectively  retard  multiplication  of 
churches  where  there  are  other  factors  at  work  to  bring  about  such 
multiplication ;  but  economic  pressure  obviously  can,  and  does,  limit 
the  number  of  ministers  who  can  be  supported.  The  fact  that  in 
some  areas  the  minister  is  a  less  important  element  in  the  church’s 
work  than  in  others,  reduces  the  apparent  disadvantages  of  estab¬ 
lishing  a  church  for  which  no  minister  can  be  supplied,  and  has  had 
an  important  effect.  In  many  counties  of  the  Middle  West,  Prairie, 
and  Pacific  regions,  general  prosperity  seems  chiefly  responsible  for 
the  large  proportionate  number  of  ministers,  these  being  our  most 
prosperous  agricultural  counties  with  the  highest  average  farm 
values  and  the  largest  average  farm  incomes. 

The  variations  in  the  proportion  of  ministers  to  churches  by 
counties  are  much  sharper  than  are  the  regional  averages.  The 
proportion  ranges  all  the  way  from  one  church  per  minister  to  four 
churches  per  minister : 

9  counties  having  in  all  31  churches  have  1  minister  for  every  church.  This 
is  the  best  record  for  the  whole  number  of  counties. 

7  counties  having  in  all  138  churches  and  125  ministers  average  1.10  churches 
per  minister. 


51 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
At  the  other  extreme, 

10  counties  having  in  all  442  churches  and  158  ministers  average  2.6  churches 
or  more  per  minister. 

1  small  county  has  4  churches,  and  a  single  minister. 

Only  1  county  of  the  179  is  without  a  minister  working  within  its  bounds. 

One  county  in  every  seven  substantially  exceeds  the  national  average 
of  the  number  of  churches  to  the  number  of  ministers. 

Approximately  one-sixth  of  all  churches  have  full-time  resident 
pastors.  The  town  and  village  churches  greatly  excel  the  country 
churches  in  this  particular.  Nineteen  per  cent,  of  the  churches  have 
part-time  resident  pastors;  52.6  per  cent,  have  non-resident  min¬ 
isters;  11.9  per  cent,  have  no  minister.  The  marked  variation  in 
these  ratios  by  regions  has  more  than  passing  significance. 

Table  VI 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  MINISTERS 

Proportion  of  Churches  Having 


Full-time 

Part-time 

Non- 

Resident 

Resident 

Resident 

No 

'. Minister 

Minister 

Minister 

Minister 

Region 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Colonial  . 

25.0 

23.1 

36.4 

15.5 

South  . 

6.1 

15.1 

69.7 

9.1 

Southwest . 

10.7 

16.2 

54.1 

19.0 

Northwest  . 

24.4 

26.9 

40.0 

8.7 

Middle  West . 

19.2 

21.5 

46.6 

12.7 

Prairie  . 

35.7 

14.3 

39.3 

10.7 

Range  . 

37.1 

25.5 

24.0 

13.4 

Pacific  . 

41.7 

21.1 

22.9 

14.3 

Total . 

16.5 

19.0 

52.6 

11.9 

The  significance  of  these  variations  is  partly  in  relation  to  the 
relative  frequency  of  churches  and  ministers,  partly  in  relation  to 
economic  well-being,  and  partly  in  relation  to  prevailing  standards 
of  church  work.  The  South  illustrates  each  of  these  phases  of  the 
question  admirably.  This  area,  relatively  speaking,  uses  more  “toiler 
preachers”  than  any  other  section,  ministers  who  make  part  or  all 
of  their  livelihood  by  following  some  other  occupation.  This  greatly 
reduces  the  economic  overhead.  Consequently,  although  the  South 
has  the  most  churches  in  proportion  to  population  and  is  by  no 
means  the  best  able  financially  to  support  them,  comparatively  few 
of  these  churches  are  listed  as  without  ministers.  Undoubtedly  a 
great  many  more  of  them  would  be  pastorless  if  they  had  to  employ 
ministers  on  anything  like  a  full-time  wage.  Furthermore,  the 
circuit  system  is  much  more  extended  in  the  South  among  all  de- 

52 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


nominations  than  it  is  elsewhere,  this  development  being  facilitated 
by  the  fact  that  churches  are  numerous,  small  and  close  together. 
The  prevailing  type  of  church  work  places  less  stress  on  the  need 
of  the  resident  minister.  More  churches  are  accustomed  to  having 
public  service  on  only  one  or  two  Sundays  a  month.  Social  and 
educational  aspects  of  the  churches’  programs  are  less  emphasized. 
In  consequence,  very  few  churches  have  full-time  resident  ministers. 
They  are  able  to  exist  and  hold  the  loyalty  of  their  people  by  other 
means.  On  the  other  hand,  the  situation  in  the  Range  and  Pacific 
regions  is  almost  exactly  opposite.  Here  where  the  church  has  a 
precarious  foothold  and  has  to  struggle  for  its  mere  existence,  the 
opportunities  of  combining  churches  are  fewer  and  the  demands  for 
resident  leadership  are  more  insistent. 

In  general,  the  fewer  churches  there  are  in  proportion  to  the 
population  the  larger  the  proportion  of  them  which  have  resident 
pastors,  and  also  the  larger  the  proportion  which  are  without  any 
minister.  It  comes  nearer  to  being  a  choice  between  a  resident 
minister  and  no  minister  at  all.  That  is  to  say,  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  effective  distribution  of  the  supply  of  ministers,  an  area 
which  is  overchurched  is  apt  to  be,  relatively  at  least,  under¬ 
ministered;  and  an  area  which  is  underchurched  is  apt  to  have  the 
compensating  advantage  of  a  more  nearly  adequate  supply  of 
ministers. 

The  great  advantage  of  the  town  over  the  village,  and  of  both 
over  the  country,  in  the  matter  of  resident  pastors  is  a  characteristic 
of  all  regions  and  of  virtually  all  counties.  Thus,  while  seventy- 
eight  out  of  every  hundred  town  churches  have  resident  pastors, 
sixty  out  of  every  hundred  village  churches  have  resident  pastors, 
but  only  seventeen  out  of  every  hundred  country  churches  have  them. 
Less  than  five  out  of  every  hundred  country  churches  have  full¬ 
time  resident  pastors. 

The  Pacific  region  makes  the  best  record  in  the  proportion  of 
churches  having  full-time  resident  pastors.  The  South  makes  the 
poorest  record.  For  town  churches  the  best  record  in  the  matter 
of  resident  pastors,  whether  full-time  or  part-time,  is  made  in  the 
Range,  where  93  per  cent,  have  resident  pastors,  the  others  being 
vacant.  The  Pacific  and  Northwest  are  next  in  order,  with  88  per 
cent. ;  the  Southwest  is  last  with  60  per  cent.  The  largest  propor¬ 
tion  of  pastorless  town  churches  is  in  the  Southwest,  27  per  cent. 
The  other  regions  vary  in  this  particular  from  4  per  cent,  to  13 
per  cent. 

For  village  churches  the  highest  proportion  with  resident  pas- 

33 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


tors,  whether  full-time  or  part-time,  is  in  the  Prairie,  76  per  cent., 
with  the  Range,  Colonial,  Pacific,  Northwest,  and  Middle  West 
regions  following  closely  in  that  order.  The  South  is  the  one  region 
in  which  the  proportion  drops  below  one-half.  The  Southwest  again 
has  the  largest  proportion  of  pastorless  village  churches,  17  per  cent, 
being  in  this  category.  The  Pacific  is  a  close  second,  with  16  per 
cent. 

For  country  churches,  no  region  makes  a  very  good  record  in 
the  matter  of  full-time  resident  pastors.  The  Pacific  and  the  Range 
regions  lead,  and  they  have  fewer  than  one  out  of  every  five 
churches  so  provided,  whereas  the  South  has  only  four  country 
churches  in  a  thousand  with  full-time  resident  pastors.  As  concerns 
resident  pastors,  whether  full-time,  or  part-time,  the  Pacific  makes 
the  best  record  with  43  per  cent.  The  Range  is  second,  and  after  it 
the  Prairie,  Northwest  and  Colonial  regions  are  closely  grouped. 
The  South  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  list,  having  less  than  one  church 
in  ten  provided  with  a  resident  pastor.  The  largest  proportion  of 
pastorless  country  churches  is  in  the  Colonial  region,  where  more 
than  one-fifth  are  without  pastors.  The  Southwest  is  a  close  second, 
and  the  Pacific  a  close  third.  In  virtually  two-tnirds  of  the  counties 
having  country  churches  there  is  none  with  a  full-time  resident 
pastor,  and  in  approximately  one-fourth  there  is  none  with  any 
resident  pastor  at  all.  In  the  South  only  six  out  of  seventy  counties 
contain  country  churches  which  have  full-time  resident  pastors,  while 
more  than  one-third  of  the  counties  are  without  any  resident  pas¬ 
tors  in  the  country. 

The  records  by  counties  as  to  pastoral  service  offer  some  illumi¬ 
nating  contrasts  which  illustrate  the  great  variations  in  the  effective¬ 
ness  of  church  organization.  Out  of  the  sixty-seven  counties  which 
contain  towns,  ten  make  a  perfect  score,  having  every  town  church 
provided  with  a  full-time  resident  pastor.  The  largest  number  in 
any  one  county  is  in  Stanislaus  County,  California,  where  there  are 
eleven  town  churches  with  full-time  resident  pastors.  At  the  other 
extreme  we  find  Jennings  County,  Indiana,  where  no  one  of  seven 
town  churches  has  a  full-time  resident  pastor;  and  Pasco  County, 
Florida,  with  only  three  for  seventeen  churches. 

There  are  177  counties  which  include  villages;  six  of  these 
counties  have  a  perfect  score,  but  they  have  only  one  or  two  village 
churches  each.  The  best  records  are  made  in  Mercer  County,  New 
Jersey,  where  thirteen  village  churches  out  of  fifteen  have  full-time 
resident  pastors,  and  Carroll  County,  New  Hampshire,  with  eleven 
out  of  sixteen.  In  forty-six  of  these  counties  no  village  church  has 

54 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


a  full-time  minister.  Telfair  County,  Georgia,  should  be  accorded 
the  lowest  mark,  since  it  has  fourteen  village  churches,  no  one  of 
which  has  a  full-time  resident  pastor. 

So  far  as  country  churches  are  concerned,  only  one  county  of 
the  whole  number  has  a  perfect  score ;  but  this  county  contains  only 
one  country  church.  The  best  record  is  made  in  Sheboygan  County, 
Wisconsin,  where  just  half  of  the  churches,  or  fifteen  out  of  thirty, 
have  full-time  resident  pastors.  There  is  no  other  county  that  ap¬ 
proaches  very  near  to  this  record.  On  the  other  end  of  the  scale  it 
is  difficult  fairly  to  assign  the  honor  of  having  the  poorest  record 
among  the  105  counties  having  country  churches  in  which  there  is 
no  full-time  resident  minister.  The  largest  number  of  country 
churches  in  any  one  of  these  counties  is  in  Ashe,  North  Carolina, 
with  117  country  churches.  County  records,  which  are  so  poor  as 
to  be  especially  noteworthy,  include  the  following:  Ashe,  North 
Carolina,  with  117  country  churches,  has  ninety-seven  served  by 
non-resident  pastors  and  two  without  pastors.  Carroll  County, 
Georgia,  with  seventy-two  country  churches,  has  sixty-six  with 
non-resident  pastors  and  two  which  are  pastorless.  Calhoun 
County,  Alabama,  shows  only  two  resident  pastors  in  fifty-six 
country  churches.  Columbia  County,  Pennsylvania,  shows  one  resi¬ 
dent  pastor  for  fifty-five  country  churches.  In  Northampton 
County,  Pennsylvania,  every  one  of  the  fifty  country  churches  has 
a  non-resident  pastor.  In  Carroll  County,  New  Hampshire,  nine¬ 
teen  country  churches  out  of  thirty-four  are  pastorless ;  while  in 
Waldo,  Maine,  twenty-one  out  of  thirty-seven  are  pastorless.  There 
are  four  counties,  two  in  the  South  and  two  in  the  Southwest,  in 
which  there  is  no  minister  resident,  whether  serving  town,  village, 
or  country  churches.  In  like  manner  there  are  twenty-five  counties, 
nineteen  in  the  South,  three  in  the  Southwest  and  three  in  the 
Middle  West,  in  which  there  is  no  minister  resident  who  gives  his 
full  time  to  a  single  church. 

Of  the  whole  number  of  churches  which  have  ministers,  whether 
resident  or  non-resident,  31  per  cent,  have  ministers  who  serve  but 
a  single  point,  though  some  of  them  have  other  occupations. 
Twenty-five  per  cent,  have  ministers  serving  two  points  each ;  19 
per  cent,  serving  three  points  each ;  25  per  cent.,  four  or  more 
points  each.  In  this  particular  also  the  town  has  the  advantage 
over  the  village,  and  both  hold  advantage  over  the  country.  The 
proportion  of  all  churches  whose  ministers  serve  but  one  point  is 
for  town,  village,  and  open  country  churches  respectively  68  per 
cent.,  43  per  cent.,  and  19  per  cent.  In  like  manner  the  proportion 

55 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


of  those  whose  ministers  serve  four  or  more  points  each  is  for  town 
churches  5  per  cent.,  for  village  churches  16  per  cent.,  and  for  coun¬ 
try  churches  32  per  cent. 

The  regional  averages  are  not  for  the  most  part  as  different  in 
these  particulars  as  they  were  in  the  matter  of  resident  pastors. 
The  best  record  for  town  churches  is  made  in  the  Colonial  and  the 
Range  regions,  where  77  per  cent,  have  ministers  serving  one  point 
only.  The  Northwest  has  the  lowest  record,  62.5  per  cent.  This 
is  the  only  region  in  which  any  considerable  proportion  of  the  town 
churches  have  ministers  who  serve  more  than  two  points.  This 
situation  obtained  in  one-sixth  of  the  churches  of  the  region.  For 
village  churches  the  best  record  is  in  the  Prairie,  where  nearly  three- 
fourths  of  the  churches  have  ministers  serving  one  point  only,  and 
in  no  case  does  the  minister  of  a  village  church  serve  more  than 
three  points.  The  Northwest  and  the  South  make  the  poorest 
records,  particularly  the  South,  where  only  27  per  cent,  of  the 
village  churches  have  full-time  ministers,  whereas  the  churches  that 
share  their  ministers  with  at  least  three  other  churches  make  up  31 
per  cent,  of  the  total  number.  For  country  churches  the  best  record 
is  in  the  Pacific  region,  with  the  Prairie  and  the  Range  in  second 
and  third  places  respectively.  The  Northwest  and  Southwest  are 
again  last,  the  Southwest  showing  42  per  cent,  of  its  country 
churches  on  circuits  of  four  or  more  points. 

Stating  the  same  thing  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  ministers, 
it  may  be  noted  that  45  per  cent,  of  the  ministers  serve  single 
churches.  Twenty-five  per  cent,  serve  two  points,  15  per  cent,  three 
points,  15  per  cent,  four  or  more  points  each.  Thus  seven-tenths  of 
the  churches  have  each  only  a  part  of  a  minister,  while  more  than 
half  of  the  ministers  must  each  attempt  to  do  more  than  one  man’s 
work.  Our  system  of  church  distribution  has  been  built  upon  the 
principle  of  sending  a  part  of  a  man  to  do  a  whole  man’s  job. 
Rather  curiously  there  is  no  appreciable  difference  in  the  average 
number  of  points  served  by  the  ministers  giving  full-time  to  their 
ministry  and  those  who  have  other  occupations.  This  does  not  hold 
uniformly  for  all  regions,  though  the  variations  are  not  very  great. 
In  the  South  and  Southwest  the  proportion  of  ministers  with  another 
occupation,  who  serve  each  a  single  church,  is  considerably  greater 
than  the  corresponding  proportion  of  ministers  giving  full-time  to 
the  ministry,  which  is,  of  course,  what  one  would  naturally  expect. 
In  the  Prairie  and  the  Range  the  reverse  is  true.  Elsewhere  the 
difference  between  the  two  groups  is  not  greater  than  5  per  cent. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  one-fifth  of 

56 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 

all  the  communities  in  these  counties,  with  7.7  per  cent,  of  the  popu¬ 
lation,  have  no  Protestant  churches  within  their  bounds.  Thirty- 
seven  per  cent,  of  the  communities,  with  29.2  per  cent,  of  the 
population,  in  159  different  counties,  have  churches  but  no  resident 
ministers.  Thus  in  more  than  one-half  of  the  communities  with 
more  than  a  third  of  the  population  there  is  no  minister  resident. 
In  addition,  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  whole  number  of  com¬ 
munities,  with  one-quarter  of  the  population,  have  no  full-time  resi¬ 
dent  pastor.  Thus  only  about  one-fifth  of  the  communities,  with 
38  per  cent,  of  the  population,  have  full-time  resident  pastors.  In 
the  South  only  8  per  cent,  of  the  communities  have  such  pastors, 
this  being  the  poorest  regional  record  in  this  particular.  In  the 
Range,  however,  seven-tenths  of  the  communities  have  no  resident 
pastor  at  all ;  the  reason  being,  of  course,  the  relatively  small  num¬ 
ber  of  churches.  In  no  one  of  the  regions  do  half  the  communities 
have  full-time  resident  pastors,  although  in  all  regions  but  the 
South  and  Southwest  more  than  half  the  population  is  in  com¬ 
munities  which  have  such  pastors.  The  best  record  here  is  made  in 
the  Pacific  region,  where  only  22.5  per  cent,  of  the  population  live 
in  communities  without  full-time  resident  pastors. 

Church  Membership 

The  total  membership  of  the  Protestant  churches  in  these  coun¬ 
ties  is  516,310,  which  is  almost  exactly  20  per  cent,  of  the  total 
town  and  country  population.  Sixteen  per  cent,  of  this  membership 
is  attached  to  town  churches,  37  per  cent,  to  village  churches  and 
47  per  cent,  to  country  churches.  Both  town  and  village  churches, 
however,  enroll  members  who  live  in  the  country,  and  therefore  the 
proportion  of  the  membership  who  are  country  residents  consid¬ 
erably  exceeds  the  proportion  of  those  who  belong  to  country 
churches.  Thus  14  per  cent,  of  the  membership  reside  in  towns, 
29  per  cent,  in  villages,  and  57  per  cent,  in  the  country.  The  average 
church  enrolls  ninety-three  members.  The  town  churches  are  by  a 
wide  margin  the  largest,  averaging  194  members  each ;  the  village 
churches  come  next  with  an  average  of  108,  while  the  country 
churches  average  seventy-two. 

All  types  of  churches  carry  on  their  rolls  a  considerable  number 
of  members  who  are  either  non-resident,  or  if  resident,  are  inactive, 
in  that  they  do  not  either  support  the  church  or  attend  its  services. 
Only  72.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  membership  was  classified  by  the 
churches  themselves  as  resident  and  active.  The  town  churches 

57 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

make  the  best  record,  with  76.5  per  cent,  of  their  total  membership 
resident  and  active;  the  village  churches  are  next  with  75  per  cent., 
and  the  country  churches  have  69  per  cent.  The  town  churches  aver¬ 
age  148  resident  members,  the  village  churches  eighty-one,  and  the 
country  churches  sixty-seven.  In  only  one  region,  the  Prairie,  are 
the  resident  active  members  more  than  four-fifths  of  the  total.  In 
four  of  the  regions  the  proportion  is  above  three-fourths.  The  South 
has  the  poorest  record,  more  than  a  third  of  its  membership  being 
classified  as  either  non-resident  or  inactive.  Both  its  country  and  its 
village  churches  are  at  the  bottom  of  the  list  in  the  regional  averages, 
its  town  churches  being  third  from  the  last.  The  Middle  West  has 
the  best  record  for  town  churches,  the  Range  for  village  churches 
and  the  Prairie  for  country  churches. 

The  non-evangelical  church  membership  is  a  variable  factor  in 
these  counties.  It  cannot  be  accurately  measured  for  the  town  and 
country  areas  since  the  survey  itself  was  not  able  to  secure  trust¬ 
worthy  data  in  all  cases  for  non-evangelical  churches.  Recourse, 
therefore,  must  be  had  to  the  1916  United  States  Religious  Census. 
It  is  not  possible  to  segregate  out  of  the  census  figures  the  totals  for 
the  town  and  country  area,  since  the  tabulation  was  by  counties,  and 
many  of  these  counties  include  cities,  which  were  excluded  in  the 
Town  and  Country  Survey.  The  total  population  of  these  counties 
is  much  larger  than  the  town  and  country  population,  and  the  total 
white  Protestant  church  membership  is  nearly  double  that  reported 
for  the  churches  studied  in  this  survey.  It  is  likely  that  the  propor¬ 
tion  of  non-evangelical  membership  is  higher  than  it  would  be  for 
the  town  and  country  areas  only,  since  it  is  obvious  that  in  part  at 
least  of  this  area  the  non-evangelical  churches  are  stronger  in  the 
city  than  they  are  in  the  country.  This  would  not,  of  course,  be 
uniformly  true.  The  exact  opposite  is  probably  the  case  with  the 
Mormon  church,  and  possibly  also  in  areas  where  there  is  a  consider¬ 
able  Spanish-speaking  population.  The  census  returns  for  these 
same  counties  are,  however,  suggestive  even  if  they  do  not  give  a 
wholly  accurate  representation  of  the  town  and  country  situation. 
Non-evangelical  membership  is  an  important  factor  in  every  region 
except  the  South,  where  it  is  almost  negligible.  The  Range  counties 
are  predominantly  non-evangelical,  only  one-fifth  of  the  total  church 
membership  being  Protestant.  Nearly  60  per  cent,  are  adherents  of 
the  Church  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints.  This  proportion  would  not 
.  hold  throughout  the  Range,  as  it  is  likely  that  the  number  of  Utah 
counties,  in  which  that  church  dominates  the  situation,  is  dispropor¬ 
tionately  high.  The  Roman  Catholic  membership  reported  is,  how- 

58 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


ever,  almost  equal  to  the  Protestant.  Outside  of  the  Range  the 
non-evangelical  strength  is  almost  entirely  Catholic.  The  Catholic 
membership  exceeds  the  Protestant  in  the  Colonial  counties  and 
almost  equals  it  in  the  Pacific  and  Southwest  counties.  It  is  ap¬ 
proximately  one-third  of  the  total  in  the  Middle  West  and  Northwest 
and  about  one-fifth  in  the  Prairie.  For  the  179  counties  as  a  whole 
the  Catholic  membership  is  almost  exactly  one-half  the  Protestant 
membership. 


The  Evangelization  of  the  Community 

By  evangelization  is  meant  the  efifort  of  the  Church  definitely  to 
enroll  individuals  in  its  membership.  Here  is  an  obvious  test  of 
church  success  which,  while  not  necessarily  of  exclusive  or  final 
importance,  is  nevertheless  fundamental  in  its  implications.  A 
church  does  many  things  besides  recruit  members.  Doubtless  there 
are  better  tests  than  membership  of  the  degree  of  loyalty  to  the 
church  which  exists  within  its  community  at  any  particular  time. 
Membership  does  not  so  sensitively  register  the  changes  in  the  spir¬ 
itual  attitudes  and  interests  of  people.  Attendance,  for  example,  or 
church  support  is  a  better  barometer,  but  the  church  which  really 
lays  hold  upon  the  affections  and  loyalties  of  its  people,  which 
effectively  implants  itself  in  the  life  of  its  community,  will  almost 
inevitably  show  the  effect  of  that  mutual  attachment  in  its  member¬ 
ship.  In  a  declining  church  it  is  likely  that  interest  and  activity 
decrease  more  rapidly  than  the  membership,  and  in  a  newly  vitalized 
church  doubtless  the  reverse  is  true.  But  on  the  average  the  success 
of  the  church  in  recruiting  members  is  a  reasonably  accurate  gauge 
of  the  general  effectiveness  of  its  work  over  a  period  of  years. 

It  was  noted  in  the  discussion  of  membership  that  the  aggregate 
membership  of  the  town  and  country  churches  was  one-fifth  of  the 
total  town  and  country  population.  The  national  average,  however, 
has  rather  less  significance  in  this  particular  than  with  reference  to 
any  other  phase  of  church  work.  Certainly  there  is  no  aspect  of 
this  whole  inquiry  which  discloses  variations  from  the  national 
average  by  regions,  counties  and  communities  which  are  so  extreme 
and  so  significant.  Regional  averages  more  nearly  approximate  the 
real  situation  than  does  a  national  average.  The  county  averages 
come  still  closer  to  it,  yet  every  county  shows  within  itself  a  wide 
range  of  variation  in  church  effectiveness.  We  have  to  come  down 
to  communities  or  even  neighborhoods  before  we  really  see  how 
uneven  is  the  success  of  the  church  in  town  and  country  areas. 

59 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


The  regional  averages  do,  however,  show  at  once  those  areas  in 
which  the  Protestant  church  is  the  least  securely  rooted.  The  Range 
and  those  sections  of  the  Southwest,  Northwest  and  Pacific  which 
are  adjacent  to  it  and  are  most  like  unto  it,  are  the  areas  where  the 
greatest  unfinished  task  of  the  town  and  country  church  is  found. 
Here  for  the  most  part  the  Church  has  not  struck  its  roots  in  very 
deeply.  There  are  vast  stretches  of  territory  where  it  has  hardly 
made  its  influence  felt  at  all.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  in  the  South 
that  the  Church  has  the  greatest  hold  on  the  affections  of  its  people. 
Poorly  organized,  poorly  manned  and  poorly  equipped,  the  country 
church  in  the  South  has  yet  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  life  of  its 
people  than  in  any  other  region.  The  Church  in  the  South  attains 
a  relatively  high  degree  of  success  in  the  face  of  handicaps  which 
would  spell  failure  in  almost  any  other  section.  The  difference 
between  the  South  and  the  other  regions  is  not  statistical  but  tem¬ 
peramental  and  spiritual.  For  the  rest  the  Colonial,  Middle  West 
and  Prairie  regions  show  a  degree  of  success  above  the  average, 
while  the  Northwest,  Southwest,  Pacific  and  Range  fall  way  below 
the  average. 


Table  VII 

PROPORTION  OF  TOTAL  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  POPULATION 
IN  MEMBERSHIP  OF  (WHITE)  PROTESTANT  CHURCHES 

Per  Cent. 


Colonial  .  21.2 

South  .  28.3 

Southwest  .  12.6 

Northwest  .  16.6 

Middle  West  .  24.3 

Prairie  .  22.7 

Range  .  6.6 

Pacific  .  10.7 

Combined  Average .  20.0 


The  variations  by  individual  counties  in  the  proportion  of  their 
population  enrolled  in  church  membership  are  much  greater  than 
the  variations  by  regions,  ranging  from  four-tenths  of  one  per  cent, 
to  57.6  per  cent.  Within  each  region  there  is  a  considerable  varia¬ 
tion.  This  is  notably  true  in  the  South  which,  with  many  counties 
showing  the  highest  proportion  of  church  membership,  comes  peril¬ 
ously  near  having  also  counties  with  the  poorest  records.  In  most 
cases  these  marked  variations  follow  rather  closely  lines  of  economic 
or  racial  differences.  Thus  in  the  South  the  counties  which  have 
the  poorest  record  are  either  in  Louisiana,  with  a  large  French  Creole 
population,  or  in  certain  newly  industrialized  mountain  counties  like 

60 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


Harlan  County,  Kentucky,  into  which  there  has  come  within  recent 
years  a  large  foreign-speaking  population.  For  the  country  as  a 
whole  slightly  more  than  one-fourth  of  all  the  counties  have  less 
than  one-tenth  of  their  population  in  their  church  membership. 
Every  region  contributes  to  this  quota,  but  three-fourths  of  these 
counties  are  in  the  western  third  of  the  United  States.  Nearly  one- 
third  of  all  of  the  counties  have  more  than  30  per  cent,  of  their 
population  in  their  church  membership.  Only  the  Prairie,  Range 
and  Pacific  regions  do  not  contribute  to  this  quota,  but  about  three- 
fourths  of  these  counties  are  in  the  South.  Only  eight  counties 
show  church  memberships  which  represent  one-half  or  more  of  their 
total  populations,  and  all  of  these  are  in  the  South.  These  variations 
by  counties  are  shown  with  more  detail  in  the  following  table : 


Table  VIII 

PROPORTION  OF  POPULATION  IN  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 


Number  of  Counties  Having 

Less 

Total  Than  Over 


No.  of 

5 

5-10 

11-20 

21-20 

21-40 

40 

Coun- 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Region 

ties 

Cent. 

Cent. 

Cent. 

Cent. 

Cent. 

Cent. 

Colonial . 

20 

— 

1 

11 

5 

3 

— 

South  . 

70 

— 

3 

15 

11 

19 

22 

Southwest  . 

15 

3 

5 

4 

1 

2 

— 

Northwest  . 

10 

— 

4 

4 

1 

1 

— 

Middle  West  . . . 

23 

2 

3 

3 

6 

8 

1 

Prairie  . 

2 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

Range  . 

26 

12 

8 

6 

— 

— 

— 

Pacific  . 

13 

1 

4 

7 

1 

— 

— ■— 

Total  . 

Per  Cent,  of  Total 

179 

19 

28 

50 

26 

33 

23 

No.  of  Counties 

10.6 

15.7 

27.9 

14.5 

18.4 

12.9 

Variations  by  communities  are  more  general  and  greater  in  ex¬ 
tent  than  the  variations  by  counties,  even  in  counties  having  a  high 
average  percentage  of  evangelization.  The  reasons  for  this  cannot 
with  any  degree  of  assurance  be  analyzed  or  reduced  to  rule.  These 
variations  are  affected  by  differences  in  history  and  tradition,  in 
qualities  of  leadership,  in  social  and  ethical  standards,  in  physical 
and  economic  factors  united  in  various  combinations  with  measurable, 
objective  differences  in  the  number  and  efficiency  of  church  organiza¬ 
tions.  In  their  general  course  these  variations  follow  lines  similar 
to  those  in  the  variations  by  counties.  For  example,  the  division  of 
the  communities  by  regions  into  groups  according  to  the  percentage 
of  population  in  church  membership  would  be  similar  to  the  distribu- 

61 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


tion  of  the  counties  on  the  same  basis.  The  extremes,  of  course, 
are  farther  apart  among  the  communities  than  among  the  counties, 
ranging  all  the  way  from  communities  which  report  no  church  mem¬ 
bership  to  communities  which  actually  report  more  members  than 
they  have  population. 

The  factors  which  seem  most  significantly  to  accompany  these 
variations  in  community  evangelism  (one  could  hardly  say  with 
assurance  that  are  responsible  for  them)  are  the  following: 

I.  For  the  country  as  a  whole,  and  for  every  region,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  town  and  village  population  is  apt  to  be  more  thoroughly 
evangelized  than  the  country  population.  This  needs  to  be  qualified 
very  carefully  not  to  be  misunderstood.  It  is  discussed  in  much 
greater  detail  in  another  chapter.  As  is  there  shown,  the  country 
communities  which  are  adequately  churched  make  the  best  showing 
in  evangelistic  results,  as  a  class  excelling  both  the  town  and  village 
communities.  But  of  the  entire  country  population  a  smaller  pro¬ 
portion  is  enrolled  in  the  churches  than  of  the  entire  town  and 
village  population.  The  difference  is  frequently  striking.  For  the 
whole  number  of  counties  the  variation  is  not  wide,  but  it  is  wide 
enough  to  be  significant.  For  example,  21  per  cent,  of  all  the  town 
residents  and  23  per  cent,  of  all  the  village  residents  are  church 
members;  but  less  than  19  per  cent,  of  all  the  country  residents. 
That  is  to  say,  the  number  of  country  people  who  are  church  mem¬ 
bers  is  only  about  82  per  cent,  of  what  it  would  be  if  the  country 
population  were  reached  by  the  churches  as  well  as  the  village  popu¬ 
lation  is  reached.  This  makes  a  difference  in  the  total  membership 
drawn  from  the  country  population  in  these  counties  of  about  63,000 
members,  which  would  add  about  one-eighth  to  their  total  church 
membership. 

The  weakness  of  the  Church  in  reaching  the  country  population 
may  be  attributed,  generally  speaking,  to  two  factors  in  addition  to 
those  which  are  apt  to  be  present  in  any  type  of  community.  The 
one  is  the  considerable  number  of  country  people  who  live  in  isolated 
communities  or  in  sparsely  settled  areas  where  perhaps  there  are  no 
churches  at  all.  The  other  is  the  fact  elsewhere  discussed  that  the 
country  people  in  the  vicinity  of  towns  of  any  considerable  size  are 
not,  generally  speaking,  well  reached  by  the  town  churches,  and  are 
not  able  to  maintain  strong  country  churches  in  competition  with 
the  town  churches.  This  lesser  degree  of  success  of  the  Church  in 
reaching  country  people  may  be  seen  by  the  fact  that  in  84  per  cent, 
of  those  counties  which  contain  towns,  the  percentage  of  evangeliza¬ 
tion  of  town  population  exceeds  the  county  average ;  in  two-thirds 

62 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


of  the  counties  containing  villages,  the  percentage  of  evangelization 
of  the  village  population  exceeds  the  county  average;  but  in  only 
18  per  cent,  of  the  counties  does  the  percentage  of  evangelization  of 
the  country  population  exceed  the  county  average.  Reversing  the 
statement,  in  12  per  cent,  of  the  counties  the  rate  of  town  evangeliza¬ 
tion  falls  markedly  below  the  county  average.  In  22  per  cent,  the 
rate  of  village  evangelization  falls  markedly  below  the  county  aver¬ 
age,  whereas  in  56  per  cent,  of  the  counties  the  rate  of  country 
evangelization  is  markedly  below  the  county  average. 

The  distribution  of  the  counties  according  to  the  proportion  of 
town,  village  and  country  population  respectively  which  is  enrolled 
in  the  church  membership,  is  set  forth  in  the  following  table: 

Table  IX 

PER  CENT.  OF  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  COUNTIES  SHOWING  SPECI¬ 
FIED  PROPORTION  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  OR  COUNTRY  POPU¬ 
LATION  ENROLLED  IN  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

Percentage  of  Population 

Less  Than  10  10-20  21-40  Over  40 


Town  .  20.9  31.3  34.3  13.5 

Village  .  22.0  25.4  41.9  10.7 

Country  .  39.7  28.5  30.1  1.7 


Total  .  26.8  27.4  32.9  12.9 


While  this  contrast  holds  for  all  regions  and  for  most  counties, 
it  is  least  marked  in  the  Colonial  area  and  in  the  South,  although 
there  are  forces  at  work  in  those  two  areas  which  almost  inevitably 
tend  in  this  direction.  Only  one  county  out  of  179,  Salem  County, 
New  Jersey,  has  more  than  50  per  cent,  of  its  country  population 
enrolled  in  the  Church.  Of  course,  individual  counties  vary  from 
the  regional  averages  in  these  respects  as  in  all  others,  but  the  varia¬ 
tions  are  for  the  most  part  within  narrow  limits  and  are  at  substan¬ 
tially  the  same  rate  for  town,  village  and  country  population.  The 
extreme  range  of  variation  by  counties  in  the  proportion  of  town 
population  enrolled  in  church  membership  is  eight-tenths  of  1  per 
cent,  to  69  per  cent.  For  the  evangelization  of  village  population  it 
is  from  0  per  cent,  to  92  per  cent.  For  evangelization  of  country 
population  it  is  from  three-tenths  of  1  per  cent,  to  74  per  cent. 

II.  The  relative  frequency  of  churches  and  ministers  in  propor¬ 
tion  to  population  varies  with  the  proportion  of  population  in  the 
church  membership ;  that  is  to  say,  the  higher  the  proportion  of  the 
population  in  church  membership,  the  greater  the  number  of  churches 
and  ministers  in  proportion  to  population.  It  does  not  seem  possible 

63 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


to  say  whether  or  not  there  is  a  relation  of  cause  and  effect  between 
these  two  things,  and  if  there  is,  which  is  the  cause  and  which  is 
the  effect.  It  is  quite  as  likely  that  a  more  intense  church  loyalty, 
combined  as  it  usually  is  with  strong  denominational  feeling,  should 
increase  the  number  of  churches  and  hence  of  ministers,  and  that 
an  increased  number  of  churches  and  ministers  should  inevitably 
increase  the  total  proportion  of  the  population  reached,  as  that  the 
reverse  should  be  true.  Probably  each  factor  is  to  a  certain  extent 
both  cause  and  effect.  The  relationship  here,  however,  may  be 
illustrated  by  a  community-by-community  analysis  of  twenty-five 
counties,  which  is  given  below. 


Table  X 


EVANGELIZATION  IN  RELATION  TO  NUMBER  OF  CHURCHES 

AND  MINISTERS 


Communities  with  Specified 
Per  Cent,  of  Population 
in  Church  Membership 

Less  than  10  per  cent . 

10-24  per  cent . 

25-34  per  cent . 

35  per  cent,  or  over . 


Average  Number  Persons  in  Population 
Per  Church  Per  Resident 

Minister 


616  1,599 
479  980 
418  885 
250  644 


For  the  same  four  groups  of  communities,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  are  set  down  in  Table  X,  the  average  number  of  churches  per 
minister  is  respectively  1.27,  2.16,  3.27,  2.62.  The  percentage  of 
churches  which  have  resident  ministers  does  not  have  any  consistent 
or  demonstrable  relation  to  the  proportion  of  population  reached. 
In  certain  counties  the  proportions  seem  to  vary  together;  but  the 
South,  with  the  lowest  percentage  of  churches  having  resident  min¬ 
isters,  has  the  highest  percentage  of  evangelization. 

III.  Any  unusual  racial  or  physical  or  economic  situation  is 
likely  to  have  a  clearly  demonstrable  effect  upon  evangelization. 
Thus  a  large  number  of  foreign-speaking  or  of  non-evangelical 
peoples,  an  exceedingly  broken  topography,  making  even  settlement 
and  easy  intercommunication  impossible,  or  an  unusually  low  degree 
of,  economic  well-being  will  almost  inevitably  reduce  the  proportion 
of  the  population  enrolled  in  the  church  membership. 

We  may  take  for  example  the  forty-eight  counties,  which  enroll 
10  per  cent,  or  less  of  their  population  in  the  church  membership. 
Thirty-three  of  the  forty-eight  are  unmistakably  frontier  counties 
in  all  of  their  characteristics.  They  have  new  settlements,  large 
areas  which  are  either  very  sparsely  settled  or  as  yet  largely  unde- 

64 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


veloped,  religious  and  social  institutions  very  insecurely  established, 
and  social  and  religious  traditions  hardly  formed.  Twenty-three  of 
these  thirty-three  have  also  each  a  large  non-evangelical  population, 
chiefly  either  Spanish-speaking  or  Mormon.  Of  the  other  fifteen 
counties,  in  seven  there  are  very  large  non-evangelical  populations, 
chiefly  of  foreign  extraction.  Others  are  economically  and  socially 
retarded.  This  leaves  only  five  of  the  forty-eight  in  which  an  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  low  degree  of  evangelization  is  at  all  difficult  to 
find.  Doubtless  in  these  cases  the  differences  are  traditional  and 
temperamental,  and  are  in  other  ways  not  easily  subject  to  analysis. 
On  the  other  hand,  of  course,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that 
wide-spread  economic  prosperity,  or  even  a  high  degree  of  social 
progress  will  necessarily  be  accompanied  by  correspondingly  good 
records  in  the  matter  of  evangelization.  Factors  such  as  those  named 
above  function  as  limiting  or  retarding  influences.  Their  absence 
does  not  guarantee  church  success,  but  simply  removes  obstacles 
from  the  path  of  church  success. 

IV.  Finally,  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  problem  of  farm 
tenancy  has  a  clear  effect  upon  its  success.  The  Church  in  the 
country  areas  is  not,  generally  speaking,  the  church  of  the  landless 
man.  It  does  not  reach  the  tenant  as  well  as  it  reaches  the  farm 
owner.  Tenantry  being  a  large  factor  in  the  agricultural  life  of 
many  of  these  counties,  as  it  is  throughout  large  areas  of  the  United 
States,  the  failure  of  the  Church  in  this  particular  has  important 
and  far-reaching  implications.  The  general  situation  by  regions  is 
shown  in  table  No.  XI. 


Table  XI 

PERCENTAGE  OF  FARM  TENANTS  AND  FARM  OWNERS  WHO 
ARE  CHURCH  MEMBERS,  BY  REGIONS 


Per  Cent,  of  Per  Cent,  of  Per  Cent,  of 


All  Farm 

All  Farm 

All  Farmers 

Owners 

Tenants 

Per  Cent,  of 

in  Church 

Who  Are 

Who  Are 

All  Farmers 

Member- 

Church 

Church 

Who  Are 

ship  Who 

Region 

Members 

Members 

Tenants 

Are  Tenants 

Colonial  . 

23.7 

26.9 

15.9 

18.1 

South  . 

59.5 

33.5 

38.5 

26.5 

Southwest  . 

26.2 

9.2 

43.9 

21.7 

Northwest  . 

16.4 

7.4 

30.3 

16.7 

Middle  West  ..... 

47.9 

20.3 

28.9 

15.0 

Prairie  . 

55.6 

15.8 

47.5 

20.8 

Range  . 

7.4 

10.0 

18.8 

24.3 

Pacific  . 

16.5 

11.5 

16.3 

12.4 

Combined  averages 

36.1 

23.2 

25.8 

21.6 

65 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


It  will  be  noted  from  the  above  table  that  in  only  three  regions, 
the  Colonial,  the  Range  and  the  Pacific,  does  the  Church  have  ap¬ 
proximately  the  same  degree  of  success  in  reaching  the  farm  tenants 
as  in  reaching  farm  owners.  All  of  these  are  regions  in  which  the 
percentage  of  tenantry  on  the  farms  is  comparatively  low,  and  two 
of  them  are  regions  in  which  the  Church  has  no  very  conspicuous 
success  in  reaching  any  type  of  farmer,  either  owner  or  tenant.  In 
all  other  regions  the  discrepancy  shown  between  the  percentages  in 
the  first  two  columns,  and  also  between  those  in  the  last  two  columns 
is  sharply  marked. 

Another  fact  of  importance  is  illustrated  here,  namely,  that  the 
larger  the  proportion  of  tenants  on  the  farm  the  greater  is  their 
relative  handicap  with  reference  to  the  Church.  Generally  speaking, 
the  counties  here  included  which  have  a  large  percentage  of  tenantry 
are  counties  in  the  Middle  West,  Prairie  and  South,  where  the 
Church  is  also  generally  well  established  in  the  affections  of  the 
people.  There  are  many  churches  in  these  counties  widely  distributed 
and  apparently  in  a  better  initial  position  to  reach  those  elements  in 
the  population  which  are  difficult  of  access  than  would  be  the  case 
in  other  regions.  For  this  reason  the  contrasts  shown  in  the  ap¬ 
pended  table  are  of  the  utmost  importance,  showing  as  they  do  that 
a  community  may  be  a  good  church  community  and  a  church  may 
be  a  good  farmers’  church,  and  yet  the  landless  man  may  be  con¬ 
spicuously  unreached. 


Table  XII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  FARM  TENANTS  AND  FARM  OWNERS  WHO 
ARE  CHURCH  MEMBERS  (175  COUNTIES) 


Ratio  of 
Tenant 
Church 


Members 

Per  Cent,  of  Farmers  to  All 
Per  Cent,  of  No.  of  Average  Who  Are  Church  Farmer 

Tenancy  in  Coun-  PerCent.  Members  Church 

Counties  ties  of  Tenancy  All 1  Owners  Tenants  Members 2 

0-10  .  28  6.8  13.6  13.7  12.4  91.2 

11-25  .  56  17.1  25.7  26.8  19.8  77.7 

26-50  .  62  35.9  39.4  48.2  23.6  61.3 

Over  50  .  29  57.2  40.9  63.6  23.9  58.6 


1  High  tenantry  counties  are  also  counties  in  which,  generally  speaking, 
the  church  is  most  securely  established,  and  hence  in  a  better  position  to  reach 
tenants. 

2  This  column  gives  the  ratio  of  column  6  to  column  4.  It  shows  the 
degree  of  success  in  reaching  tenants  as  compared  with  farm  owners. 

66 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


The  column  on  the  right  in  Table  XII  is  the  measure  of  the  rela¬ 
tive  efficiency  of  the  Church  in  reaching  the  farm  tenant  and  in 
reaching  the  farm  owner.  It  takes  as  its  basis  the  assumption  that 
the  Church  should  reach  the  farm  tenant  in  whatever  proportion  it 
reaches  the  farm  owner,  assuming  neither  greater  nor  less  degree  of 
success.  It  does  not,  of  course,  argue  the  question  that  in  many  of 
these  counties  the  proportion  of  farmers,  irrespective  of  their  eco¬ 
nomic  status,  who  are  reached,  is  much  lower  than  should  be  the 
case.  Accepting  that  fact,  this  column  shows  for  each  group  of 
counties  the  degree  to  which  the  Church  is  as  successful  in  reaching 
the  tenant  as  in  reaching  the  owner.  In  the  low  tenancy  counties 
the  discrepancy  is  not  great,  the  Church  being  91  per  cent,  efficient 
with  respect  to  the  tenant.  In  the  group  of  counties  with  the  next 
highest  percentage  of  tenantry  it  is  78  per  cent,  efficient.  In  the 
third  group  of  counties,  where  tenantry  ranges  from  25  to  50  per 
cent.,  it  is  61  per  cent,  efficient.  Finally,  in  those  counties  where 
more  than  half  the  farms  are  tenant-operated,  and  almost  all  of 
which  are  counties  that  show  a  high  degree  of  general  evangeliza¬ 
tion,  the  Church  is  only  59  per  cent,  efficient  with  respect  to  the 
tenant. 


The  Church  Parish 

For  the  purposes  of  the  Town  and  Country  Survey,  the  church 
parish  was  defined  as  the  area  within  which  the  bulk  of  its  members, 
attendants  and  supporters  live.  In  each  county  surveyed,  the  parishes 
of  all  the  churches  were  indicated  on  the  map.  The  method  used 
was  to  follow  out  each  road  from  the  church  to  that  point  where 
the  last  regular  attendant  or  adherent  lived.  These  outermost  points 
were  then  connected  by  straight  lines,  and  the  area  so  included  was 
regarded  as  the  parish  of  the  particular  church.  In  this  sense  the 
parish  would  be  understood  as  the  area  within  which  a  particular 
church  exercises  its  direct  influence  upon  individuals  who  are  related 
to  its  organization.  It  does  not  follow  that  the  church  ministers 
directly  to  all  of  the  people  living  within  that  area,  or  even  to  all 
types  of  people  living  there.  The  mapping  of  the  parishes  is,  how¬ 
ever,  significant  because,  taken  together,  these  parishes  show  what 
proportion  of  the  inhabited  territory  of  a  given  area  is  directly 
served  by  the  church  in  any  degree. 

In  each  of  the  regional  volumes  of  this  series,  and  in  the  sta¬ 
tistical  and  graphic  supplement,  will  be  found  maps  on  which  church 
parishes  are  indicated.  A  study  of  these  maps  reveals  many  things 

67 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


of  interest  and  significance.  It  is  obvious  in  the  first  place  that  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  whole  town  and  country  area  is 
overlaid  by  the  parishes  of  more  than  one  church.  This  overlapping 
of  parish  areas  is  in  general  of  three  sorts.  As  elsewhere  indi¬ 
cated,  a  large  proportion  of  the  towns  and  villages  have  each  two 
or  more  churches.  The  parishes  of  the  different  churches  in  the 
same  community  center  frequently  vary  quite  markedly  in  their 
size  and  shape.  In  the  second  place  there  are  frequent  instances  of 
the  overlapping  of  the  parish  areas  of  churches  scattered  in  location 
throughout  the  open  country.  For  example,  where  two  country 
churches  are  located,  say,  three  or  four  miles  from  each  other,  each 
of  them  will  include  part  of  the  territory  of  the  other  within  its 
parish.  Further,  there  is  not  infrequently  overlapping  of  the  parishes 
of  churches  of  the  same  denomination.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
certain  parts  of  the  South  and  of  the  Colonial  areas,  and  of  those 
denominations  whose  policy  it  is  to  distribute  their  strength  in  many 
small  organizations  located  rather  near  together.  Again,  there  are 
instances  of  a  church  of  one  denomination  located  at  a  community 
center  including  within  its  parish  area  the  entire  parish  areas  of 
several  country  churches  of  the  same  denomination. 

In  general,  there  are  two  conclusions  which  cannot  help  but 
strike  the  student  of  parish  maps.  The  first  is,  how  seldom  does 
it  happen  that  a  particular  church  does  not  have  to  share  any  of  its 
parish  area  with  any  other  church.  The  second  is,  that  even  in  the 
older  settled  parts  of  the  country,  and  where  the  churches  are  oldest, 
most  securely  established  and  present  in  the  largest  numbers,  con¬ 
siderable  areas  will  be  found  which  are  not  touched  by  the  parishes 
of  any  church.  These  are  chiefly  the  fringes  of  communities,  or 
“neutral  zones,”  or  the  isolated  neighborhoods  off  the  main  lanes 
of  travel.  Not  infrequently  the  same  county  map  shows  the  over¬ 
lapping  of  parish  upon  parish  in  one  part  of  the  territory,  and  in 
another  large  areas  where  no  church  is  intimately  related  to  a  single 
household. 

Very  few  denominations  have  even  theoretically  a  consistent 
and  well-developed  parish  system.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
has  such  a  system,  and  every  square  mile  of  inhabited  territory  is 
definitely  assigned  to  the  parish  of  a  given  church.  The  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  has  a  similar  system  in  theory,  although  it  is  by 
no  means  so  completely  worked  out.  Most  denominations,  however, 
completely  lack  any  parish  system  at  all.  Each  individual  congre¬ 
gation  works  as  far  in  each  direction  from  its  church  plant  as  its 
abilities  and  inclinations  permit.  Its  parish  may  encroach  upon  or 

68 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


completely  swallow  up  the  parish  of  a  neighboring  church  of  its 
own  faith,  or  there  may  be  large  gaps  between  the  edge  of  its 
parish  and  the  edge  of  another  parish  of  its  own  faith,  or  even 
between  its  parish  and  the  parish  of  any  other  church  of  whatever 
denomination.  Parish  areas  do  not  even  have  any  consistent  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  community  areas.  Very  generally  the  churches  at  a 
community  center  have  a  smaller  outreach  than  the  trade  area  of 
that  same  center,  and  this  outreach  is  much  more  subject  to  acci¬ 
dental  considerations.  Generally  speaking,  the  average  Protestant 
church  does  not  have  the  reach  in  miles  of  a  good  general  store, 
or  of  a  good  creamery  or  of  a  moving-picture  theater.  The  parish 
of  the  church  is,  however,  very  definitely  affected  by  the  general 
development  of  the  neighborhood  or  community.  Only  under  rather 
exceptional  circumstances  is  the  church  parish  apt  to  extend  beyond 
the  limits  of  its  neighborhood  or  community.  Contracted  com¬ 
munities  generally  mean  contracted  parishes. 

In  the  discussion  which  follows,  the  data  is  drawn  from  twenty- 
five  counties  only,  these  being  the  counties  which  were  intensively 
surveyed.  The  chapter  on  the  relationships  of  town,  village  and 
country  includes  a  brief  discussion  of  this  question  from  that  par¬ 
ticular  point  of  view.  It  is  sufficient,  therefore,  to  say  here  that 
the  parish  of  the  average  town  church  is  about  four  times  as  large 
as  the  parish  of  the  average  village  church,  and  about  six  times 
as  large  as  that  of  the  average  country  church.  In  the  case  of  either 
town  or  village  church  the  average  parish  size  is  contracted  by  the 
proximity  of  country  churches.  The  average  size  of  the  country 
parish  is  contracted  by  its  proximity  to  a  city  church,  but  not  very 
definitely  affected  by  proximity  to  a  town  or  village.  For  all  town 
and  country  churches  in  the  areas  surveyed,  the  average  parish  size 
is  about  twenty  square  miles.  The  variations,  however,  are  fre¬ 
quent,  and  are  very  considerable  in  degree. 

The  variations  by  regions  differ  widely,  and  these  differences 
carry  on  their  face  a  suggestion  of  factors  which  obviously  affect 
the  reach  of  the  church.  The  Range  counties  by  a  very  wide  margin 
show  the  highest  average,  practically  seventy-five  square  miles.  The 
Middle  West  is  second  with  about  one-third  that  average,  and  the 
Pacific  comes  next  with  a  slightly  lower  average.  The  South  is  in 
the  fourth  place  with  an  average  about  half  that  of  the  Middle 
West,  although  the  Southern  Mountains  show  an  average  of  less 
than  eight  square  miles.  The  churches  of  the  Colonial  region  have 
the  smallest  regional  average,  slightly  less  than  the  average  of 
the  South. 


69 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

The  obviously  important  factors  in  these  differences  are  the 
following : 

I.  Frequency  of  churches  should  be  noted  first.  It  was  stated 
at  an  earlier  point  in  this  chapter  that  in  the  South  and  the  Colonial 
region  there  are  many  more  churches  in  proportion  to  population 
than  elsewhere,  and  that  since  the  population  in  these  areas  has 
generally  a  greater  density  per  square  mile  than  farther  west,  this 
means  that  there  are  actually  many  more  churches  per  unit  of  terri¬ 
tory.  It  likewise  happens  that  there  are  very  generally  churches 
of  the  same  denomination  near  together.  Thus,  while  these  regions 
show  a  comparatively  high  degree  of  evangelism  of  their  town  and 
country  population,  the  greater  frequency  of  churches  manifestly 
operates  to  reduce  the  average  parish  area.  The  areas  in  which  the 
churches  are  farther  spaced,  although  their  population  is  much  less 
thoroughly  evangelized,  nevertheless  offer  opportunities  to  the 
churches  to  draw  their  adherents  from  much  greater  distances. 

II.  The  size  of  the  community  itself  is  closely  related  to  the  fore¬ 
going.  In  large  part  it  varies  according  to  the  density  of  population, 
a  higher  density  meaning  a  smaller  average  size.  The  smaller  the 
community  in  general  the  smaller  the  parish.  In  the  Southern 
Mountains  it  is  the  topography  of  the  country  and  the  character 
of  its  settlement  that  obviously  underlie  both  the  size  of  the  com¬ 
munity  and  the  size  of  its  parish.  Here  the  term  “community”  must 
be  applied  to  what  would  ordinarily  be  considered  a  neighborhood. 
Physical  barriers  require  the  organization  of  social  life  within  small 
units.  Churches  are  thus,  in  the  main,  neighborhood  institutions. 
The  parish  area  of  each  is  apt  to  be  contracted  to  the  particular 
valley  or  cove,  often  very  limited  in  extent,  in  which  it  is  located. 

III.  A  third  point,  which  is  in  fact  hardly  more  than  a  side¬ 
light  on  the  foregoing,  concerns  the  effect  of  the  frequency  of  towns 
and  villages ,  and  of  their  relative  importance  as  centers  of  rural 
influence.  Two  somewhat  opposing  tendencies  are  to  be  noted  here. 
If  towns  and  villages  are  numerous  and  near  together,  their  trade 
areas  tend  to  be  contracted,  and  in  like  manner  the  parish  areas  of 
the  churches  tend  to  be  contracted.  The  Colonial  region  is  an  in¬ 
stance  of  this,  and  likewise  certain  parts  of  the  Middle  West.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  those  regions  where  the  influence  of  the  town 
or  village  as  a  rural  center  is  greatest  the  parish  area  of  a  town 
or  village  church  is  apt  to  be  enlarged,  and  the  area  of  the  country 
church  is  apt  to  be  contracted.  For  example,  the  village  of  the 
South  has  a  low  degree  of  importance,  and  the  village  churches  in 
the  South  are  near  the  bottom  of  the  list  in  their  average  parish 

70 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


area.  In  the  Pacific  region,  however,  the  rural  influence  of  the 
towns  is  very  great,  and  in  the  average  parish  area  of  the  town 
churches  this  region  is  near  the  top  of  the  list. 

IV.  The  condition  of  country  roads  has  an  obvious  effect  at  this 
point.  Where  transportation  is  difficult,  naturally  the  reach  of  the 
church  is  lessened;  of  this  the  South  presents  an  instance.  Where 
transportation  is  easy,  the  reach  of  the  church  is  lengthened,  as  is 
the  case  with  the  Pacific  counties. 

V.  Interdenominational  competition  has  a  clear  relation  to  this 
question.  In  those  areas  in  which  competition  between  certain  of 
the  most  frequent  denominations  is  almost  everywhere  present,  this 
competition  operates  to  reduce  the  average  parish  area  by  multiply¬ 
ing  the  number  of  churches.  This  is  particularly  true  in  the  South 
and  in  the  Colonial  regions.  Here,  generally  speaking,  an  adherent 
of  any  one  of  the  several  denominations  with  the  most  churches, 
can  reach  a  church  of  his  choice  without  traveling  any  great  distance. 
In  those  sections  where  competition  is  not  so  uniformly  present,  in¬ 
dividual  churches  frequently  have  a  longer  and  a  more  selective  reach. 

The  residence  of  the  pastor  has  an  effect  upon  the  size  of  the 
parish  which  shows  more  or  less  uniformly  throughout  the  twenty- 
five  counties.  A  church  with  a  resident  pastor  has  a  reach  nearly 
three  times  as  great  on  the  average  as  a  church  with  a  non-resident 
pastor.  The  former  averages  twenty-seven  square  miles,  the  latter 
only  ten  square  miles.  That  statement  does  not  mean  wholly  what 
it  might  seem  to  mean,  i.e.,  it  is  not  merely  an  argument  that  a  resi¬ 
dent  pastor  can  obviously  do  more  to  build  up  the  reach  of  a  church 
than  a  mere  preacher  can  do.  The  areas  which,  on  the  grounds 
discussed,  have  the  largest  average  parishes  show  also  the  highest 
proportions  of  churches  with  resident  ministers ;  but  if  the  feeble 
church  with  the  limited  reach  generally  has  no  resident  pastor  because 
it  cannot  afford  to  have  one,  this  lack  becomes  then  one  important 
reason  why  it  remains  feeble  and  limited,  and  as  so  often  happens, 
what  begins  as  an  effect  ends  as  a  cause. 

The  variation  in  outreach  according  to  denominations  is  sug¬ 
gestive.  Twenty-five  of  the  denominations  present  in  these  counties 
have  each  an  average  parish  area  for  all  of  their  churches  in  excess 
of  the  general  average  of  twenty  square  miles.  The  identity  of 
these  twenty-five  denominations  permits  some  significant  conclu¬ 
sions  : 

I.  Fifteen  of  the  twenty-five,  including  seven  of  the  ten  with 
the  highest  denominational  averages,  are  wholly  or  predominantly 
foreign-language  churches.  The  foreign-language  church,  especially 

71 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


where  its  constituent  population  is  scattered  through  a  population 
which  is  generally  English-speaking,  has  naturally  enough  a  reach 
much  longer  than  the  average.  There  are  few  instances  in  these 
counties  of  foreign-language  churches  serving  groups  which  are 
highly  concentrated.  There  is  one  such  church  which  has  a  parish 
area  of  less  than  one  square  mile.  But,  generally  speaking,  such 
a  church  seeks  out  its  own  particular  people  and  draws  them  great 
distances. 

II.  Those  churches  which  are  built  on  the  foundation  of  some 
dogma  which  sharply  differentiates  them  from  other  churches  (as, 
for  example,  a  particular  theory  of  baptism  or  of  the  Sabbath) 
unless  they  are  in  an  area  where  their  particular  type  abounds,  will 
generally  considerably  exceed  the  average  in  parish  area.  Where 
this  factor  is  combined  with  the  foreign-language  factor,  the  result  is 
a  quite  abnormal  reach.  For  example,  the  Swedish  Baptist  churches 
of  which  there  are  several  in  the  179  counties  considered,  lead 
the  whole  list  of  denominations  with  an  average  parish  area  of  131 
square  miles.  Five  of  the  first  twenty-five  denominations,  and  two 
of  the  first  ten,  are  thus  distinguished  by  some  particular  dogma. 
The  Southern  Baptist  Church,  which  more  than  any  other  on  purely 
theological  grounds  might  be  expected  to  qualify,  has  an  average 
reach  less  than  the  general  average,  because  of  the  great  numbers 
of  its  churches  near  together  in  those  counties  studied  where  they 
are  at  all  present. 

III.  Interdenominational  or  federated  churches  are  well  toward 
the  top  of  the  list.  They  are  present  in  these  counties  in  two  dis¬ 
tinct  forms,  the  undenominational  community  church  and  the  inter¬ 
denominational  federated  church.  Probably  their  high  average  is 
due  in  part  to  the  fact  that, religious  unity  is  itself  an  idea  appealing 
to  many,  and  hence  drawing  them  from  considerable  distances, 
and  in  part  because  certain  of  the  federated  churches  in  these  coun¬ 
ties,  by  reason  of  federation,  have  acquired  exclusive  responsibility 
for  areas  rather  larger  than  they  would  otherwise  serve. 

All  of  the  ten  denominations  having  the  highest  group  averages 
are  of  one  of  these  three  sorts ;  and  they  include  all  but  four  of  the 
first  twenty-five. 

IV.  Next  in  order,  and  completing  the  list  of  those  that  exceed 
the  general  average,  are  the  denominations  that  work  on  the  policy 
of  a  compacted  organization  rather  than  of  wide  expansion  through 
many  small  churches.  Such  a  policy  naturally  works  to  increase 
the  reach  of  a  church.  The  Presbyterians  and  the  Reformed 
churches  are  good  examples.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Methodist 

72 


THE  GENERAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  ENTERPRISE 


Episcopal  churches,  which  more  than  any  others  have  developed  the 
contrary  policy,  are  well  down  in  the  list. 

s 

Chapter  Summary 

The  data  for  this  chapter  are  drawn  from  179  counties  with 
5,552  churches  and  3,353  ministers. 

There  is  an  average  of  one  church  for  every  463  inhabitants. 
The  ratio  varies  by  counties  from  one  church  for  every  163  people 
to  one  church  for  11,089. 

By  regions,  the  South  has  most  churches  proportionately  and 
the  Range  the  fewest. 

One  church  for  1,000  people  is  regarded  as  the  norm.  Only  six 
counties  out  of  179  approximate  this  norm.  Twenty-seven  counties 
have  fewer  churches  and  146  have  more  churches  than  the  norm 
requires. 

Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  counties  have  twice  as  many  churches,  and 
15  per  cent,  have  four  times  as  many  churches,  as  the  standard 
calls  for. 

One-fifth  of  the  communities,  containing  one-thirteenth  of  the 
population,  have  no  churches. 

There  is  one  minister  for  every  1.7  churches  and  for  every  767 
people. 

The  supply  of  ministers  is  relatively  greater  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  churches  as  the  supply  of  churches  in  proportion  to  popu¬ 
lation  diminishes. 

Sixteen  and  five-tenths  per  cent,  of  all  churches  have  full-time 
resident  ministers ;  19  per  cent,  have  part-time,  resident  ministers ; 
52.6  per  cent,  have  non-resident  ministers;  11.9  per  cent,  have  no 
ministers. 

The  fewer  churches  there  are  in  proportion  to  population,  the 
larger  the  proportion  of  them  that  have  resident  pastors  and  the 
larger  the  proportion  of  those  that  have  no  ministers  at  all. 

The  town  church  has  an  advantage  over  the  village  church, 
and  both  of  these  over  the  country  church,  in  the  matter  of  resident 
pastors. 

Sixty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  town  churches  have  ministers  who 
serve  one  church  only,  as  compared  with  43  per  cent,  of  village 
churches  and  19  per  cent,  of  the  country  churches. 

One-third  of  all  ministers  combine  some  other  occupation  with 
the  work  of  the  ministry.  In  the  South  and  the  Southwest,  the 
proportion  is  nearly  one-half. 


73 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Fifty-five  per  cent,  of  the  ministers  serve  each  two  churches 
or  more. 

Only  one  community  in  five  has  a  full-time,  resident  minister. 

Church  membership  is  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  population. 

Town  churches  average  194  members;  village  churches,  108; 
country  churches,  72. 

Twenty-seven  and  five-tenths  per  cent,  of  the  total  membership 
is  either  non-resident  or  inactive. 

By  counties  the  proportion  of  the  population  in  the  church  mem¬ 
bership  varies  from  0.4  per  cent,  to  57.6  per  cent. ;  by  region  from 
6.6  per  cent,  to  28.3  per  cent. 

The  town  and  village  population  is  more  thoroughly  evangelized 
than  the  country  population,  taken  as  a  whole. 

The  greater  the  number  of  churches  and  ministers  in  proportion 
to  population,  the  higher  the  proportion  of  the  population  in  the 
church  membership. 

Any  unusual  racial,  physical  or  economic  situation  is  apt  to  reduce 
the  degree  of  evangelization. 

The  Church  does  not  reach  the  farm-tenants  as  well  as  it  reaches 
the  farm-owners.  The  higher  the  percentage  of  tenantry  the  greater 
the  discrepancy  between  the  two  groups  in  respect  to  church  mem¬ 
bership. 

The  average  church  parish  includes  twenty  square  miles.  The 
average  is  largest  for  denominations  that  use  a  foreign  language  or 
that  proclaim  some  peculiar  dogma. 


74 


CHAPTER  IV 


The  Inter-Relations  of  Town,  Village,  Hamlet  and 


Open  Country 


HE  town  and  country  area  naturally  divides  itself  into  four 


kinds  of  population  groups.  There  is  a  certain  number 


of  open  country  communities  and  there  are  communities 
centering  in  hamlets,  villages  and  towns.  A  small  proportion  of 
the  country  population  was  classified  by  the  survey  as  “neutral,” 
that  is,  as  living  in  areas  not  directly  related  to  any  community. 
These  counties  also  include  a  number  of  cities  which  were  not  sur¬ 
veyed;  but  the  rural  population  adjacent  to  and  dependent  upon 
them  was  surveyed.  It  is  the  particular  purpose  of  this  chapter  to 
consider  these  population  groups  in  relation  to  one  another,  and  to 
measure  the  relative  contribution  of  each  to  the  evangelization  of 
the  total  town  and  country  population.  It  is  concerned  only  in¬ 
directly  with  the  individual  problems  of  town,  village,  or  hamlet. 

The  basis  of  the  study  is  555  communities  in  25  counties  in  21 
states,  with  a  total  included  population  of  473,636,  exclusive  of  the 
cities  which  were  not  surveyed.  For  the  purposes  of  this  study 
these  communities  and  their  population  were  divided  into  eight 
classes ;  open  country  communities,  hamlet  communities,  communi¬ 
ties  centering  in  villages  of  under  1,000,  communities  centering  in 
villages  of  over  1,000,  a  small  number  of  villages  with  no  open- 
country  constituency,  town  communities,  rural  areas  dependent  upon 
cities,  and  “neutral  zones.”  Each  of  these  types  is  fairly  well  dis¬ 
tributed  geographically,  although  most  of  the  towns  are  in  the  Middle 
West  and  the  Range.  The  South,  the  Range  and  the  Pacific  region 
have  proportionately  fewer  village  and  more  hamlet  communities ; 
and  the  Colonial  region  and  the  Middle  West  are  strongholds  of 
the  smaller  village.  The  open  country  communities,  while  widely 
distributed  regionally,  appear  to  owe  their  existence  either  to  com¬ 
parative  isolation  and  low  density  of  population  or  to  a  restricted 
rural  importance  of  the  village  and  the  town.  Thus,  of  the  total 
number  of  103  open  country  communities,  fifty-five  are  in  four 
southern  counties,  and  twenty-eight  are  in  four  western  counties 
each  of  which  has  a  great  deal  of  comparatively  waste  land.  The 


75 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


open  country  communities  do  not  under  current  conditions  appear 
to  be  characteristic  of  normal  rural  development. 

The  typical  community  unit  from  the  point  of  view  of  frequency 
is  one  centering  in  a  hamlet  or  in  a  village  of  less  than  1,000  popula¬ 
tion.  Seven  out  of  ten  are  of  this  character.  Only  about  one-tenth 
of  the  whole  number  have  centers  which  exceed  1,000  in  population. 
The  division,  according  to  our  usual  classifications,  shows  the  open 
country  communities  to  be  19  per  cent,  of  the  total  number,  the 
hamlet  communities  48  per  cent.,  village  communities  30  per  cent., 
and  town  communities  3  per  cent.  The  percentages  differ  but 
slightly  from  those  secured  in  an  analysis  of  179  counties  which 
showed  20  per  cent,  open  country,  43  per  cent,  hamlet,  33  per  cent, 
village  and  4  per  cent,  town  communities. 

The  towns,  the  larger  villages,  and  the  smaller  villages,  have 
about  equal  segments  of  the  total  population  living  within  their  cor¬ 
porate  bounds,  and  together  include  about  one-third  of  the  whole 
number.  Approximately  two-thirds  of  the  total  are  in  the  open 
country  or  in  hamlets,  the  hamlets  having  an  insignificant  fragment. 
Those  making  up  three-fifths  of  the  population  considered  actually 
live  on  farms.  On  the  other  hand,  approximately  three-fifths  live 
in  or  adjacent  to  the  centers  of  over  1,000  population,  most  of  the 
remainder  living  in  or  adjacent  to  the  smaller  centers.  The  open 
country  population  independent  of  any  center  whatever,  living  in 
open-country  communities  or  in  “neutral  zones,”  is  less  than  7  per 
cent,  of  the  total.  This  shows  the  extent  to  which  the  trade  center 
hypothesis,  which  was  used  throughout  these  surveys  in  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  community  boundaries,  actually  applies.  The  farming 
population  is  to  an  overwhelming  extent  attached  to  the  communi¬ 
ties  of  the  various  hamlets,  village  and  town  centers.  The  following 
percentages  show  the  distribution  of  the  open  country  population 
by  type  of  community : 


Per  cent. 


(  Cities  .  11.02 

Within  the  \  Towns  .  8.89 

community  *<  Villages  over  1,000  .  14.75 

areas  of  /  Villages  under  1,000  .  24.89 

(_  Hamlets  .  29.51 

In  open  country  communities  .  10.36 

In  neutral  zones  .  .58 


It  is  significant  that  a  comparatively  small  proportion  of  the  total 
use  the  community  institutions  of  the  larger  city  and  town  centers 
and  an  even  smaller  proportion  are  independent  of  the  community 

76 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

institutions  of  any  sort  of  center.  The  village  and  the  hamlet  are 
the  country  capitals. 

The  variations  in  average  total  population  for  the  different  types 
of  community  and  also  the  varying  ratios  of  the  open  country  popu¬ 
lation  to  the  population  of  the  community  center  are  shown  in  the 
following  table : 

Table  XIII 

A:  AVERAGE  SIZE  OF  COMMUNITIES— AVERAGE  POPULATION 

PER  COMMUNITY 


Type  of  Community  Center  Country  Total 

City  . .  (not  surveyed)  1,863  1,863 

Town  .  3,751  1,825  5,576 

Village  of  over  1,000  .  1,626  1,368  2,994 

Village  of  under  1,000 .  417  586  1,003 

Hamlet  .  101  327  428 

Open  country  .  .  289  289 


B:  RATIO  OF  OPEN  COUNTRY  POPULATION  WITHIN  COM¬ 
MUNITY  TO  POPULATION  IN  CENTER 

Type  of  Community  Country  Center 

Town  .  49  100 

Village  of  over  1,000  .  84  100 

Village  of  under  1,000  .  140  100 

Hamlet  .  324  100 

These  averages  and  the  ratios  based  upon  them  vary  somewhat 
from  region  to  region.  There  is  less  variation  in  the  average  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  various  centers  than  there  is  in  the  open  country  popula¬ 
tion  attached  thereto.  For  example,  in  the  smaller  village  group 
the  population  at  the  center  for  the  five  regions  into  which  the 
counties  were  here  divided  varies  only  from  375  to  458.  The  country 
population,  however,  varies  from  401  to  898.  The  Pacific  region 
has  the  lowest  average  ratio  for  the  hamlets  and  smaller  villages 
and  the  Colonial  area  has  the  lowest  for  the  larger  villages  and  the 
towns.  However,  the  order  of  ratios  given  in  the  table  holds  for 
every  region  except  the  Pacific  where  the  towns  draw  proportionately 
more  country  people  than  the  villages  because  of  the  unusual  de¬ 
velopment  of  California  towns  as  rural  centers.  In  general  it  may 
be  said  that: 

(1)  The  deviation  from  the  average  ratio  of  country  people  to 
people  at  the  center  is  sharpest  in  the  communities  with  the  largest 
centers.  The  ratio  is  most  constant  in  the  communities  of  the  ham¬ 
lets  and  small  villages  which  seem  less  affected  by  accidental  con¬ 
siderations. 


77 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


(2)  The  number  of  country  people  attached  to  the  trade  center 
tends  to  vary  directly  as  the  size  of  the  center.  The  proportion  of 
country  population  to  the  population  at  the  center  tends  to  vary 
inversely  as  the  size  of  the  center. 

(3)  The  ratio  of  the  country  population  to  the  population  of  the 
center  is  higher  for  all  types  of  communities  with  very  little  indus¬ 
trial  development;  it  is  higher  also  where  there  is  the  greatest  de¬ 
velopment  of  rural  service  within  the  centers. 

Table  XIV  shows  the  distribution  of  churches  by  their  location 
in  country,  hamlet,  village  or  town,  and  Table  XV  by  the  type  of 
community  in  which  they  are  found. 


Table  XIV 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  CHURCHES  BY  LOCATION 


No.  of 

Per  Cent. 

Located  in 

Churches 

of  Total 

Towns  . 

78 

7.6 

Villages  . 

347 

33.6 

Hamlets . 

In  town  communities  . 

2 

In  village  communities  . 

15 

In  hamlet  communities  . 

217 

234 

22.7 

Open  country 

In  town  communities  . 

13 

In  village  communities  . 

99 

In  hamlet  communities  . 

64 

In  open  country  communities . 

165 

In  city  communities  . . 

31 

372 

36.1 

Total  . 

1,031 

100.0 

Table  XV 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  CHURCHES  BY  TYPE  OF  COMMUNITIES 


No.  of 

Per  Cent. 

Located  in 

Town  communities 

Churches 

of  Total 

Towns  . 

78 

Hamlets  . 

2 

Open  country  . 

Village  communities 

13 

93 

9.0 

Villages  . 

347 

Hamlets  . 

15 

Open  country  . 

Hamlet  communities 

99 

461 

44.7 

Hamlets  . 

217 

Open  country  . 

64 

281 

27.3 

Open  country  communities  . 

165 

16.0 

City  Communities  . 

31 

3.0 

Total  . 

1,031 

100.0 

78 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

The  villages  and  hamlets  have  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the 
total  number  of  churches  than  they  have  of  the  total  population, 
and  the  towns  and  the  open  country  a  much  smaller  proportion. 
However,  the  smaller  the  community,  the  larger  proportionately  is 
the  number  of  churches  in  it.  Thus,  the  open  country  communities 
have  on  the  average  less  than  one-half  as  many  persons  per  church 
as  the  hamlet  communities,  about  one-third  as  many  persons  per 
church  as  the  village  communities,  and  less  than  one-fifth  as  many 
as  the  town  communities.  The  contrast  in  these  last  two  sentences 
may  be  differently  stated.  On  the  basis  of  the  actual  location  of  the 
church,  the  population  living  in  towns  has  one  church  for  every  673 
persons,  the  population  of  the  villages  one  for  every  310,  the  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  hamlets  one  for  every  112  and  the  open  country  popula¬ 
tion  one  for  every  773.  It  is  obviously  fairer,  however,  to  assume 
that  a  church  in  the  center  is  potentially,  at  least,  for  the  entire 
population  of  its  community.  From  this  point  of  view  the  people 
residing  in  the  town  communities  (whether  they  live  in  the  town 
itself  or  in  the  adjacent  country  areas)  have  one  church  for  every 
839  persons.  The  village  communities  have  one  for  every  480,  the 
hamlet  communities  one  for  every  395,  and  the  open  country  com¬ 
munities  one  for  every  180. 

Ten  of  the  seventeen  city  rural  areas  included  in  the  survey 
have  country  churches.  The  cities  in  these  communities,  of  course, 
all  have  a  sufficient  number  of  churches,  although  it  does  not  appear 
that  they  reach  the  country  population  with  much  effectiveness. 
Inasmuch  as  these  city  churches  were  not  studied,  their  rural  areas 
will  not  be  considered  in  this  discussion.  There  are  119  small  com¬ 
munities,  with  an  average  population  of  about  300,  which  have  no 
churches  within  their  borders.  Our  discussion  therefore  concerns 
149  town  communities,  151  village  communities  and  254  hamlet 
communities  or  open  country  communities.  The  first  question  is : 
To  what  extent  do  country  people  actually  use  town  or  village 
churches  ?  There  is  a  growing  opinion  that  the  town  and  the  village 
church  is  to  be  the  most  important  factor  in  the  evangelization  of 
the  country  population  in  the  future,  that  the  open  country  church 
cannot  compete  with  it,  and  that  the  major  emphasis  in  mission 
policy  should  be  to  strengthen  the  town  and  village  church  for  rural 
service.  With  this  opinion  as  a  statement  of  what  ought  to  be  or 
might  be,  we  are  not  here  concerned.  Regarded,  however,  as  a 
statement  of  present  fact,  it  is  not  sustained  by  the  data  at  hand. 
In  the  first  place,  there  are  254  hamlet  or  open  country  communities 
which  have  country  or  hamlet  churches  and  which  do  not  have 

79 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


village  or  town  or  city  churches  within  convenient  distances.  At 
the  outset,  therefore,  it  may  be  said  that  29  per  cent,  of  the  town 
and  country  population  is  largely  removed  from  the  influence  of  the 
town  and  village  churches. 

The  situation  in  the  town  and  village  communities  is  as  follows : 
There  are  eight  town  communities  with  a  total  population  of  47,380, 
including  an  open  country  population  of  14,225  which  have  only 
town  churches,  forty-seven  in  all.  The  other  six  town  communities, 
with  a  total  population  of  30,681,  including  an  open  country  popula¬ 
tion  of  11,327,  have  both  town  churches  and  open  country  churches; 
in  all  thirty-one  town  and  fifteen  country  churches.  Of  the  village 
communities  ninety-six,  with  the  total  population  of  111,802,  includ¬ 
ing  an  open  country  population  of  49,932,  have  only  village  churches 
— 212  in  number.  Fifty-three  village  communities  with  a  total 
population  of  95,563,  including  an  open  country  population  of  54,749, 
have  both  village  and  open  country  churches — 135  of  the  former 
and  113  of  the  latter. 

There  are,  therefore,  104  town  and  village  communities  in  which 
there  are  no  open  country  churches,  but  which  have  259  town  or 
village  churches.  The  towns  average  six  churches  and  the  villages 
average  2.2  churches  each.  The  aggregate  church  membership  is 
31,107.  The  town  churches  have  an  average  membership  more 
than  twice  that  of  the  village  churches,  or  207  to  101.  Of  the  aggre¬ 
gate  membership,  almost  exactly  one-third  is  drawn  from  the  open 
country  population.  The  town  churches  draw  22.8  per  cent,  of 
their  membership  from  the  country,  or  an  average  of  forty-seven 
country  members  per  church.  The  village  churches,  in  proportion 
to  their  size,  depend  much  more  heavily  on  the  country  population, 
drawing  37.5  per  cent,  of  their  members  from  the  country,  or  an 
average  of  forty-six  members  per  church.  In  the  town  communi¬ 
ties  these  country  members  represent  15.5  per  cent,  of  the  total 
country  population,  while  the  town  members  represent  22.6  per 
cent,  of  the  town  population.  In  the  village  communities  the  country 
members  represent  16  per  cent,  of  the  country  population,  while 
the  village  members  represent  21.6  per  cent,  of  the  village  population. 

These  villages  and  towns  are,  therefore,  virtually  on  a  parity 
both  in  reaching  the  country  population  and  in  winning  the  people 
in  the  center  itself.  These  figures  may  be  contrasted  first  with  the 
corresponding  figures  for  the  fifty-nine  communities  which  contain 
both  town  or  village  and  open  country  churches.  These  have,  all 
told,  a  total  of  166  town  and  village  churches  and  128  country 
churches.  The  town  communities  have  an  average  of  five  town  and 

80 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

two  and  one-half  country  churches  each.  The  village  communities 
have  an  average  of  about  two  and  one-half  village  and  two  country 
churches  each.  The  aggregate  church  membership  is  36,304,  that 
is,  the  fifty-nine  communities  in  this  group  have  a  larger  aggregate 
membership  than  the  104  communities  just  discussed.  The  differ¬ 
ence  in  average  size  is  not  so  marked,  the  town  churches  averaging 
226  members  and  the  village  churches,  140.  The  country  church 
in  the  town  communities,  however,  averages  only  thirty-four  mem¬ 
bers,  whereas  the  country  church  in  the  village  communities  aver¬ 
ages  eighty-seven — all  of  the  country  churches  as  a  group  average 
eighty-one.  Of  this  total  membership,  approximately  one-half  is 
from  the  country.  The  town  churches  draw  almost  exactly  the  same 
proportion  of  their  membership  from  the  country  as  in  the  other 
group  of  towns.  The  village  churches  draw  a  slightly  larger  pro¬ 
portion  than  in  the  other  group  of  villages.  Country  members 
average  fifty-two  per  town  church  and  forty-eight  per  village  church. 

In  the  town  communities  the  country  church  members,  including 
both  those  attached  to  the  town  churches  and  those  belonging  to 
country  churches,  represent  18.7  per  cent,  of  the  country  population, 
while  the  town  members  represent  27.8  per  cent,  of  the  town  popu¬ 
lation.  In  the  village  communities  the  corresponding  percentages 
are  29.9  per  cent,  of  the  country  population  and  30.6  per  cent,  of 
the  village  population.  These  figures  are  summarized  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  table : 


Table  XVI 

VARIATIONS  IN  EVANGELIZATION  BY  TYPE  OF  COMMUNITY 


Average  membership,  town 

or  village  church  . 

Average  membership,  coun¬ 
try  church  . 

Per  cent,  of  town  or  vil¬ 
lage  church  membership 

from  country  . 

Per  cent,  of  town  or  vil¬ 
lage  population  in  church 

membership  . 

Per  cent,  of  country  pop¬ 
ulation  in  church  mem¬ 
bership  . 


Town  Communities 
With  Without 

Country  Country 
Churches  Churches 

226  207 

34  - 

22.9  22.8 

27.8  22.6 

18.7  15.5 


Village  Communities 
With  Without 

Country  Country 
Churches  Churches 

140 

101 

87 

39.4 

37.5 

30.6 

21.6 

29.9 

16.0 

In  any  measurement  of  the  contribution  of  the  town  or  the 
village  to  open-country  evangelization  certain  facts  must  be  kept  in 

81 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


mind.  In  general,  the  number  of  country  people  included  within  a 
town  or  village  community  varies  directly  as  the  size  of  the  town  or 
village.  The  towns  here  studied  have  an  average  open-country  con¬ 
stituency  more  than  treble  that  of  the  villages.  The  town  church 
has,  therefore,  an  initial  advantage  over  the  village  church  in  that  it 
has  a  much  larger  number  of  country  people  upon  whom  it  may 
draw.  The  stronger  pull  of  the  town  church  upon  the  country 
population  is  almost  wholly  owing  to  that  fact.  In  those  communities 
in  which  there  are  no  open-country  churches,  the  churches  of  the 
average  town  enroll  277  country  members,  whereas  the  churches 
of  the  average  village  enroll  only  eighty-three.  In  those  communi¬ 
ties  in  which  there  are  also  open-country  churches,  the  churches  of 
the  average  town  enroll  268  country  members  as  compared  with 
122  for  the  churches  of  the  average  village.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  no  such  discrepancy  in  the  proportion  of  the  available 
country  population  reached  by  the  town  and  village  churches  re¬ 
spectively.  In  those  communities  in  which  there  are  no  open-country 
churches,  the  town  and  village  churches  reach  approximately  the 
same  per  cent,  of  the  available  country  population.  The  village 
churches  actually  depend  more  largely  upon  their  country  member¬ 
ship  than  do  the  town  churches.  But  in  those  communities  in 
which  there  are  also  open-country  churches,  the  town  church  is  less 
affected  by  that  competition  than  is  the  village  church.  The  tendency 
is  for  the  town  church  to  neutralize  and  retard  the  adjacent  country 
church  which  suffers  by  comparison  with  its  strong,  well-manned, 
well-organized  and  well-equipped  town  competitor.  The  town 
churches,  relatively,  do  rather  better  in  competition  with  country 
churches  than  where  such  competition  is  absent.  The  village 
churches,  however,  relatively,  do  not  do  so  well. 

Another  aspect  of  the  situation  is  shown  in  this  further  com¬ 
parison.  In  communities  which  have  both  town  and  country 
churches,  the  town  churches  enroll  more  than  three  times  as  many 
country  members  as  do  the  country  churches.  There  are  50  per 
cent,  more  country  members  in  the  average  town  church  than  there 
are  in  the  average  country  church  within  the  same  community.  In 
a  corresponding  village  community,  however,  the  country  churches 
enroll  about  50  per  cent,  more  country  members  than  do  the  village 
churches.  There  are  only  about  half  as  many  country  members  in 
the  average  village  church  as  there  are  in  the  average  country  church 
within  the  same  community.  There  is  less  difference  between  a 
country  church  and  a  village  church,  in  every  point  that  affects 
church  efficiency,  than  there  is  between  a  country  church  and  a 

82 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

town  church.  The  country  church  is  able  to  withstand  village  com¬ 
petition,  but  is  not  able  to  withstand  town  competition. 

There  is  one  sidelight  on  this  situation  that  is  interesting.  Com¬ 
munities  which  have  country  churches  as  well  as  town  or  village 
churches,  show  a  substantially  larger  proportion  of  the  country 
population  enrolled  in  the  church  membership  than  do  those  that 
depend  wholly  upon  town  or  village  churches.  This  is  natural.  But 
they  also  show  substantially  better  results  in  reaching  the  town  or 
village  population.  This  is  noticeably  true  in  the  villages,  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  village  population  in  the  churches  increasing  from  22 
per  cent.,  where  there  are  no  country  churches,  to  31  per  cent, 
where  there  are  both  village  and  country  churches. 

Neither  the  town  nor  the  village  church,  in  a  community  that 
has  no  open-country  churches,  reaches  the  country  population  as 
successfully,  by  a  considerable  margin,  as  it  reaches  the  population 
residing  within  the  limits  of  the  town  or  village.  In  town  communi¬ 
ties  having  both  town  and  open-country  churches,  there  is  a  similar 
situation;  the  town  churches  reach  about  the  same  proportion  of 
the  country  population  as  where  they  serve  the  whole  field  alone, 
but  retard  the  country  churches  so  that  the  net  results  are  not  much 
improved.  Village  churches,  however,  in  communities  having  both 
village  and  country  churches,  do  not  particularly  retard  the  country 
churches.  The  net  result  is,  therefore,  much  improved,  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  country  population  enrolled  in  the  churches  nearly 
doubling  and  the  proportion  of  village  population  enrolled  increasing 
more  than  one-third  as  compared  with  the  communities  having 
village  churches  only.  The  best  record  in  evangelization  is,  there¬ 
fore,  made  by  the  village  communities  that  have  both  village  and 
country  churches. 

This  conclusion  as  to  the  importance  of  the  country  churches 
for  open-country  evangelization  may  be  further  strengthened  by 
other  computations.  A  special  list  was  made  of  all  those  communi¬ 
ties  in  which  35  per  cent,  or  more  of  the  total  population  was 
enrolled  in  the  church  membership  and  also  of  those  in  which  less 
than  10  per  cent,  was  so  enrolled.  Of  the  104  town  and  village 
communities  that  depend  entirely  upon  the  town  or  village  church, 
only  16  per  cent,  are  included  among  those  that  have  enrolled  35 
per  cent,  or  more  of  their  population  in  the  church  membership ; 
whereas,  30.8  per  cent,  are  in  the  group  reaching  less  than  one-tenth 
of  their  population.  Of  fifty-nine  town  and  village  communities 
that  have  both  town  or  village  and  country  churches,  32.2  per  cent, 
are  included  in  the  group  reaching  35  per  cent,  or  more  of  their 

83 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


population;  whereas  only  5.1  per  cent,  are  included  in  the  group 
reaching  less  than  one-tenth.  Thus  the  communities  that  have 
country  churches  as  well  as  churches  at  the  center  have  twice  as 
many  proportionally  in  the  most  successful  class  and  only  one-sixth 
as  many  proportionally  in  the  least  successful  class.  The  hamlets 
and  open  country  communities,  on  this  showing,  do  not  quite  equal 
the  record  of  those  town  and  village  communities  that  have  country 
churches ;  but  considerably  better  the  record  of  those  that  do  not. 
The  towns  with  only  town  churches  reach  about  20  per  cent,  of  the 
total  population;  and  the  villages  with  only  village  churches  reach 
about  19.1  per  cent.  The  towns  with  both  town  and  country 
churches  reach  24  per  cent,  and  the  villages  with  both  village  and 
country  churches  reach  30  per  cent. 

These  results  may  now  be  contrasted  with  those  obtained  in  the 
hamlet  and  open-country  communities  where  hamlet  and  open- 
country  churches  are  alone  responsible  for  the  evangelization  of  the 
population.  Two  hundred  and  fifty-five  such  communities  have  an 
average  of  1.8  churches  per  community,  with  an  average  member¬ 
ship  of  73,  and  an  enrollment  of  27.8  per  cent,  of  the  total  popula¬ 
tion.  One  hundred  and  fifty-six  of  these  are  communities  that 
contain  small  hamlets.  Their  total  population  is  78,512,  22  per  cent, 
living  in  the  hamlets  and  the  remainder  in  the  open  country.  These 
communities  have  280  churches  with  a  total  membership  of  19,531, 
or  24.9  per  cent,  of  the  population.  The  other  ninety-nine  communi¬ 
ties  are  strictly  open  country  communities.  Their  aggregate  popula¬ 
tion  is  42,321.  They  have  180  churches  with  an  aggregate  membership 
of  14,093,  which  equals  31.9  per  cent,  of  the  population.  These 
open  country  communities,  therefore,  show  the  highest  percentage 
of  evangelization  of  any  type.  The  table  on  page  85  recapitulates 
these  figures  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  percentage  of  population 

in  the  churches. 

% 

It  would  seem  from  the  foregoing  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of 
justification  for  such  a  comment  as  Dr.  H.  Paul  Douglass  makes 
in  his  “From  Survey  to  Service” — “that  the  killing  range  of  the 
town  church  exceeds  its  service  range.”  That  is,  the  town  church 
has  the  effect  of  diverting  from  the  country  church  enough  of  its 
strength  to  diminish  its  influence,  but  does  not  so  serve  the  country 
population  as  adequately  to  take  the  place  of  the  country  church. 
The  line  of  cleavage  between  the  smaller  village  and  the  country  is 
not  so  sharply  drawn  as  that  between  the  town  and  the  country ; 
moreover,  the  village  does  not  apparently  have  so  destructive  an 
influence  on  the  neighborhood  solidarity  as  does  the  town.  It  does 

84 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

not  encroach  so  seriously  upon  the  strength  of  the  country  church 
and  it  rather  supplements  the  country  church’s  efforts. 

Considering  the  situation  as  a  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
village  population  is  somewhat  better  evangelized  than  the  town 
population  and  the  latter  somewhat  better  than  the  country  popu¬ 
lation,  though  the  differences  are  not  very  great.  Thus  in  179 

Table  XVII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  POPULATION  INCLUDED  IN  CHURCH 


MEMBERSHIP 

Town  or 

Type  of  Community 

Village 

Country 

Total 

Population 

Population 

Population 

Town  communities  with  town 

churches  only  . 

Village  communities  with  village 

22.6 

15.5 

20.0 

churches  only  . 

Town  communities  with  both 

21.6 

16.0 

19.1 

town  and  country  churches  . . 
Village  communities  with  both 

27.8 

18.7 

24.0 

village  and  country  churches.. 

30.6 

29.9 

30.0 

Hamlet  communities  . 

24.9 

24.9 

Open  country  communities  . 

Hamlets  and  open  country  com- 

31.9 

31.9 

bined  . 

27.8 

27.8 

counties,  23  per  cent,  of  the  people  of  the  villages  are  church  mem¬ 
bers,  21  per  cent,  of  the  town  population  and  slightly  less  than  19 
per  cent,  of  the  country  population.  In  each  group  the  regional 
variations  are  considerable.  But  throughout,  the  village  and  town 
populations  show  (in  some  regions  by  a  wide  margin)  the  highest 
percentage  of  evangelization.  The  country  churches  have  an  initial 
handicap  in  that  the  towns  and  villages,  rather  than  the  hamlets  and 
the  open  country,  are  the  centers  of  pastoral  residence.  The  average 
country  church  has  to  be  content  with  a  fraction  of  the  time  of  a 
non-resident  minister. 

Sunday  School  Enrollment 

These  general  conclusions  are  significantly  strengthened  by  the 
consideration  of  Sunday  school  enrollment.  None  of  these  groups 
of  churches  obtains  Sunday  school  scholars  as  successfully  as  it 
obtains  church  members.  The  hamlet  and  open-country  communi¬ 
ties  have  less  than  three-fourths  as  many  Sunday  school  scholars 
as  church  members.  The  town  Sunday  schools  in  the  communities 
without  any  country  churches  reach  only  one-half  as  many  Sunday 

65 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


school  members  from  the  country  as  they  reach  church  members. 
Where  there  are  also  country  churches  and  Sunday  schools  they 
reach  only  one-third  as  many  Sunday  school  members  as  church 
members.  The  village  schools  do  proportionately  much  better. 
Where  there  are  no  country  schools  they  reach  slightly  more  than 
three-fourths  as  many  Sunday  school  members  as  church  members. 
Where  there  are  also  country  schools  they  reach  59  per  cent,  as  many. 
The  town  Sunday  school  has  a  much  slighter  pull  than  the  town 
church.  No  doubt,  the  distance  factor  is  of  importance.  This 
does  not  count  so  heavily  with  the  Sunday  school  in  the  village, 
where  the  proportion  of  Sunday  school  scholars  to  church  members 
is  about  the  normal  proportion.  In  each  case,  however,  the  Sun¬ 
day  school  succumbs  to  country  competition  more  quickly  than  the 
church  does ;  but  the  village  Sunday  school  resists  it  better  both 
actually  and  relatively  than  the  town  Sunday  school.  This  may 
be  shown  in  another  way.  Where  town  Sunday  schools  have  the 
whole  field,  they  enroll  on  the  average  one  in  every  thirteen  of  the 
rural  population.  Where  they  compete  with  country  Sunday  schools 
they  enroll  one  in  twenty-one.  Where  the  village  Sunday  school 
has  the  whole  field  it  enrolls  one  in  every  eight  of  the  rural  popu¬ 
lation,  and  where  it  competes  with  country  schools  it  enrolls  one 
in  every  fourteen.  The  proportion  of  the  country  population  en¬ 
rolled  in  Sunday  schools  (whether  town,  village,  or  open-country 
Sunday  schools)  within  the  various  types  of  communities  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

Where  there  are  only  town  Sunday  schools  .  1  in  13 

Where  there. are  both  town  and  country  Sunday  schools  ...  1  in  9 

Where  there  are  only  village  Sunday  schools  .  1  in  8 

Where  there  are  both  village  and  country  Sunday  schools. .  1  in  5.4 

Where  there  are  only  hamlet  or  country  Sunday  schools  ...  1  in  5 

The  best  work  is  done,  therefore,  where  the  hamlet  or  open- 
country  Sunday  school  is  unrestricted  by  either  town  or  village  com¬ 
petition.  We  may  attempt  on  the  basis  of  these  various  sets  of 
figures  to  measure  the  total  contribution  of  town  and  village  churches 
to  the  evangelization  of  country  population  in  the  following  table : 

Table  XVIII 

A.  DISTRIBUTION  OF  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  COUNTRY  CHURCH 

MEMBERS : 

In  town  churches  . 3,823  or  6.0  per  cent. 

In  village  churches  .  14,491  or  22.6  per  cent. 

In  hamlet  or  open  country  churches  .  45,759  or  71.4  per  cent. 


Total 


SQ 


64,073  or  100.0  per  cent. 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

B.  DISTRIBUTION  OF  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  COUNTRY  SUNDAY 

SCHOOL  MEMBERS: 


In  town  Sunday  schools  .  1,643  or  3.7  per  cent 

In  village  Sunday  schools  .  9,855  or  22.0  per  cent! 

In  hamlet  or  open  country  Sunday  schools  .  33'204  or  74.3  per  cent. 


Total  .  44,702  or  100.0  per  cent. 


It  appears,  therefore,  that  in  the  aggregate  the  town  is  a  com¬ 
paratively  negligible  factor  in  the  problem  of  country  evangeliza¬ 
tion.  It  has  even  less  importance  from  the  point  of  view  of  re¬ 
ligious  education.  The  village  is  more  important,  and  about  as  im¬ 
portant  in  one  particular  as  in  the  other.  However,  the  open  coun¬ 
try  and  hamlet  churches  and  Sunday  schools  are  still  by  all  odds 
the  biggest  factors  in  country  evangelization,  enrolling  in  their 
membership  nearly  three-fourths  of  all  the  country  church  members 
and  the  country  Sunday  school  members.  Both  town  and  village 
obviously  have  a  much  smaller  importance  religiously  than  they 
have  socially  and  economically. 

One  other  question  of  interest  concerns  the  size  of  the  average 
church  parish  measured  in  miles.  A  church  parish  is  regarded  as 
the  area  within  which  the  bulk  of  its  regular  attendants,  members 
and  supporters  live.  The  averages  for  churches  under  various  cir¬ 
cumstances  are  as  follows : 


Table  XIX 

AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  SQUARE  MILES  IN  CHURCH  PARISH 

Square  Miles 


Town  church  in  communities  with  only  town  churches  .  90.43 

Town  church  in  communities  having  country  churches  also  ....  57.21 

Village  church  in  communities  with  only  village  churches .  21.46 

Village  church  in  communities  having  country  churches  also  . . .  15.55 

Country  church  in  town  communities  .  17.98 

Country  church  in  village  communities  . * .  11.17 

Country  or  hamlet  church  in  hamlet  communities  .  14.92 

Country  church  in  open  country  communities  .  11.93 

Country  church  in  city  communities  .  7.06 


Certain  points  are  worth  noting  in  connection  with  the  fore¬ 
going.  The  town  church  parish  greatly  exceeds  that  of  any  other 
type  of  church.  The  town  church  not  only  draws  more  members 
from  the  country  on  the  average,  but  it  draws  them  farther.  This 
is,  of  course,  in  line  with  common  observation,  that  the  pull  of  the 
town  church  from  the  country  is  selective;  that  is,  it  tends  to  draw 
from  considerable  distance  those  individuals  who  for  denominational 
or  other  reasons  are  particularly  attracted  to  the  larger,  better  or- 

87 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


ganized  town  church.  Within  this  larger  area  its  influence  is  by 
no  means  inclusive  of  all  people  or  all  types  of  people.  The  village 
church  exercises  its  influence  within  a  much  more  restricted  area. 
The  presence  within  the  community  of  a  country  church  greatly 
contracts  the  parish  range  of  the  church  in  the  center,  but  the  town 
loses  much  more  proportionately  than  the  village  church  does.  So 
far  as  the  country  church  is  concerned,  while  it  has  by  a  considerable 
degree  a  smaller  average  parish  than  the  town  or  village  church, 
its  proximity  to  town,  village,  or  hamlet  does  not  in  any  uniform 
way  contract  it  geographically,  whatever  the  effect  of  this  proximity 
may  be  upon  its  total  strength.  The  probable  reason  for  this  is  that 
the  average  country  church  is  a  neighborhood  and  not  a  community 
institution.  There  are,  of  course,  many  exceptions,  but  on  the 
average  the  country  church  serves  a  physically  more  contracted 
group.  The  church  at  the  center  on  the  other  hand,  tends  to  be¬ 
come  community-wide  in  its  range. 

The  village  church,  however,  has  less  to  differentiate  it  from 
the  country  church  than  has  the  town  church ;  the  difference  in  size, 
in  equipment,  in  program  is  less  marked.  Hence  the  village  church 
makes  slower  headway  than  the  town  church  against  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  groupings  within  its  community.  The  small  average  size  of 
the  country  church  parishes  within  the  rural  areas  of  the  larger 
centers,  corresponds  with  the  general  weakness  of  these  churches 
in  other  points.  The  country  churches  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
city  have  the  double  handicap  of  the  competition  of  a  very  much 
larger  city  church  and  the  rapid  disintegration  of  neighborhood  life 
under  the  influence  of  the  city.  There  are  better  transportation 
facilities  from  the  country  to  the  city  than  from  the  country  to 
the  village.  Also  a  country  church  placed  near  a  city  usually  has 
an  elliptical  orbit  drawing  chiefly  from  the  direction  away  from 
the  city.1 

A  special  study  was  made  of  the  100  town  or  village  churches 
having  the  largest  number  of  open-country  members.  These  100 
churches  are  in  sixty-five  different  communities,  in  eighteen  counties 
in  fifteen  states.  Proportionately  the  village  communities  having 
both  village  and  country  churches  furnish  the  largest  quota.  The 
smallest  quota  relatively  is  furnished  by  the  town  communities 
having  both  town  and  country  churches.  The  geographical  distri¬ 
bution  of  these  100  churches  helps  to  support  the  contention  that 
the  question  of  a  town  or  village  church  proving  attractive  to  coun¬ 
try  people  is  apt  to  be  part  of  the  larger  question  of  the  town  itself 

1  For  a  more  extended  discussion  of  church  parishes,  see  pages  67-73. 

88 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

attracting  country  people.  The  counties  in  which  the  villages  and 
towns  are  important  rural  centers  for  economic,  social  and  other 
reasons,  furnished  a  proportionately  larger  number  of  churches  for 
this  list  of  100.  Thus  Sedgwick  County,  Kansas,  furnished  11; 
Stanislaus  County,  California,  18;  Sheboygan  County,  Wisconsin,  9; 
Columbia  County,  Pennsylvania,  10;  Salem  County,  New  Jersey,  8; 
Clay  County,  Iowa,  6.  The  Range  counties  did  not  furnish  any; 
while  counties  like  Warren  County,  New  York,  Price  County,  Wis¬ 
consin,  Lane  County,  Oregon,  and  the  various  Southern  counties 
furnished  only  one  or  two  or  three  apiece.  The  Pacific  region  fur¬ 
nished  the  largest  proportion  relatively ;  the  Colonial  region  the 
smallest  proportion  aside  from  the  Range. 

These  100  churches  are  on  the  whole  above  the  average  in  size. 
Only  five  of  them  have  a  total  membership  of  less  than  100,  while 
twenty-two  of  them  exceed  300  members  each.  The  averages  for 
the  whole  number  are  as  follows : 

Total  membership  .  241 

Country  members  . . .  118 

Proportion  of  country  membership  to  total  member¬ 
ship  .  48.9  per  cent. 

These  figures  may  be  compared  with  averages  for  all  town  and 
country  churches  studied,  as  follows : 


Total  membership  .  131 

Country  membership  .  44 

Proportion  of  country  membership  to  total  members  . .  33.33  per  cent. 


Twenty-eight  different  denominations  are  represented  among 
the  100.  Twelve  of  these  have  but  a  single  representative  and  four 
have  only  two  each.  The  largest  single  denominational  group  is 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  with  twenty-eight.  A  comparison  of  the 
total  number  of  town  and  village  churches  for  the  various  denomina¬ 
tional  families,  with  the  number  of  their  churches  included  in  these 
100,  indicates  that  the  largest  proportional  representation  is  from 
those  denominations  having  a  foreign-language  bond,  or  those  which 
are  liturgical.  Such  churches  have  a  tenacious  hold  upon  their 
members  and  are  able  to  attract  them  from  considerable  distances. 
Thus,  whereas  the  100  churches  represent  a  little  less  than  one- 
fourth  of  all  the  town  and  village  churches,  they  include  58  per  cent, 
of  the  Reformed  churches  and  more  than  one-third  of  the  Lutheran 
churches.  So  far  as  other  denominations  are  concerned  there  seem 
to  be  no  very  significant  differences. 

89 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Forty-one  per  cent,  of  these  churches  compete  with  country 
churches  in  their  own  communities.  Out  of  the  forty-one  instances 
in  which  there  was  rural  competition,  there  were  sixteen  cases  in 
which  an  adjacent  country  church  had  a  full-time  resident  pastor; 
and  in  three  additional  cases  there  was  a  part-time  resident  pastor. 
These  churches  in  the  center,  therefore,  do  not  have  to  overcome 
much  pastoral  work  by  country  churches.  In  only  three  instances 
is  one  of  these  town  or  village  churches  united  on  a  circuit  with 
other  churches  in  the  same  community. 

Predominantly  these  100  churches  are  in  the  small  villages.  More 
than  one-half  of  them  are  in  villages  of  750  population  or  less  and 
about  one-third  are  in  villages  of  500  or  less.  Only  fifteen  are  in 
towns,  nine  of  these  being  in  one  town.  These  villages  and  towns, 
however,  show  a  considerably  larger  country  population  than  the 
average.  Thus  the  towns  represented  in  this  list  of  100  churches 
have  an  average  open-country  population  in  their  communities  of 
3,034,  as  compared  with  an  average  of  1,826  for  all  towns.  The 
villages  have  an  average  country  constituency  of  905  as  compared 
with  an  average  for  all  villages  of  674.  That  is,  these  best  farmers’ 
churches  are  situated  in  the  best  farmers’  towns.  This  tendency  is 
further  confirmed  by  certain  other  facts.  Of  these  towns  and  vil¬ 
lages,  87.7  per  cent,  report  that  there  is  cooperation  between  the 
town  and  village  merchant  and  the  farmer.  For  all  the  other  towns 
and  villages,  only  73  per  cent,  report  such  cooperation.  The  ex¬ 
istence  of  community  spirit  is  reported  in  78.5  per  cent,  of  these 
communities,  as  compared  with  68.7  per  cent,  of  all  other  towns 
and  villages.  Fifty  and  eight-tenths  per  cent,  have  farmers’  co¬ 
operative  organizations,  as  compared  with  39.5  per  cent,  of  all 
others.  These  margins  of  difference  are,  of  course,  not  wide  enough 
to  be  decisive ;  but  they  do  show  that  the  problem  of  the  village 
church  attracting  country  people  is  at  least  related  to  the  village 
itself  being  attractive  to  the  country  people. 

Among  the  factors  which  make  possible  the  extensive  rural 
evangelization  of  these  churches,  the  following  may  be  noted:  Of 
all  town  and  village  churches,  44.2  per  cent,  have  full-time  resident 
pastors.  Of  these  100  churches  sixty-two  have  such  pastors. 

The  last  point  to  be  discussed  in  this  chapter  concerns  the  co¬ 
operation  between  the  village  and  town  merchants  and  the  farmers. 
Information  is  available  on  this  point  for  488  communities,  of  which 
351,  or  71.9  per  cent.,  state  the  existence  of  such  cooperation;  the 
remainder  stating  the  opposite.  The  percentage  of  the  total  num- 

90 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

ber  of  communities  reporting  the  existence  of  such  cooperation  by 
type  of  community  follows : 


Towns  .  84.6  per  cent. 

Villages  .  78.3  per  cent. 

Hamlets  .  70.3  per  cent. 

Open  country .  63.4  per  cent. 

While  these  variations  are  not  very  wide,  it  should  be  noted 
that  the  proportion  of  the  cases  in  which  there  is  cooperation  varies 
directly  as  the  size  of  the  center.  Whether  this  means  that  the 
merchant  in  the  small  community,  being  nearer  the  farmer,  has 
more  opportunity  to  quarrel  with  him  is  not  apparent.  The  varia¬ 
tions  by  regions  for  all  communities  are  as  follows: 


Middle  West 

Pacific  . 

Range  . 

Southern  . . . 
Colonial 


86.0  per  cent. 
76.8  per  cent. 
75.0  per  cent. 
71.7  per  cent. 
62.3  per  cent. 


For  all  those  town  and  village  communities  which  have  town  and 
village  churches  only,  the  percentage  was  78.5,  as  compared  with 
85.4  per  cent,  for  those  town  and  village  communities  having  both 
town  or  village  and  country  churches. 

There  is  an  interesting  question  as  to  whether  there  is  any  cor¬ 
relation  between  the  presence  or  absence  of  a  cooperative  spirit  be¬ 
tween  the  merchants  and  farmers  and  the  existence  of  farmers’  co¬ 
operatives.  It  is  sometimes  assumed  that  the  organization  of  farmers’ 
cooperatives  has  been  hastened,  if  not  largely  occasioned,  by  the 
existence  of  friction  between  the  farmers  and  the  merchants.  In¬ 
formation  is  available  on  this  point  for  503  communities.  Of  these 
149,  or  about  30  per  cent.,  have  farmers’  cooperatives.  Of  the  149 
communities,  117  report  that  there  is  cordial  cooperation  between 
farmer  and  merchant.  Twenty  report  that  there  is  not,  and  twelve 
do  not  answer  this  question.  In  354  communities  there  are  no 
farmers’  cooperative  organizations.  Two  hundred  and  forty-two 
of  these  report  cordial  cooperation  between  farmers  and  merchants, 
and  112  report  the  opposite. 

These  same  figures  may  be  put  in  a  different  way.  Of  all  the 
communities  which  claim  that  there  is  a  cooperative  spirit  between 
the  farmers  and  the  merchants,  virtually  one-third  have  farmers’ 
cooperative  organizations.  Of  all  the  communities  which  report 
that  there  is  not  a  cordial  relation  between  farmers  and  merchants, 

91 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


a  little  less  than  one-sixth  have  farmers’  cooperative  organizations. 
On  the  other  hand,  of  the  communities  which  have  farmers’  co¬ 
operative  organizations,  85  per  cent,  claim  that  the  relations  between 
merchants  and  farmers  are  cordial;  whereas  of  those  which  do  not 
have  farmers’  cooperative  organizations,  only  68  per  cent,  make 
such  a  claim. 

There  is  no  proof  here  that  local  friction  is  the  primary  cause 
of  farmers’  cooperative  organizations,  unless  one  may  assume  that 
once  they  were  established  they  have  been  instrumental  in  removing 
whatever  friction  previously  existed.  On  the  basis  of  these  figures 
a  community  is  more  than  twice  as  likely  to  have  a  cooperative  or¬ 
ganization  among  farmers  if  the  relations  between  the  farmers  and 
merchants  are  cordial  than  if  they  are  not ;  and,  conversely,  those 
relations  are  much  more  likely  to  be  cordial  if  a  cooperative  is  in 
existence  than  if  it  is  not.  Eliminating  from  the  figures  those  com¬ 
munities  for  which  information  is  lacking  on  either  one  or  the  other 
of  these  points,  we  have  these  results  from  a  total  of  491  com¬ 
munities  : 

117,  or  23.8  per  cent.,  have  both  farmers’  cooperatives  and  general  cooperation 

between  merchants  and  farmers. 

112,  or  22.8  per  cent.,  have  neither. 

242,  or  49.3  per  cent.,  have  cordial  general  cooperation  but  no  cooperatives. 

20,  or  4.1  per  cent.,  have  the  cooperatives  but  not  general  cordial  feeling. 

That  is  to  say,  a  community  is  as  apt  to  have  both  as  it  is  to 
have  neither,  and  it  is  very  much  more  apt  to  have  a  good  general 
feeling  with  a  cooperative  organization  than  it  is  to  have  the  co¬ 
operative  organization  without  the  good  general  feeling.  All  of 
this  proves,  merely,  that  the  friction  between  merchants  and  farmers 
is  not  so  prevalent  as  is  sometimes  supposed  and  that  whether  it 
exists  or  not  it  is  not  the  controlling  influence  in  the  formation  of 
farmers’  cooperative  organizations. 


Chapter  Summary 

Only  one  community  in  ten  includes  a  place  of  over  1,000  in¬ 
habitants. 

One-fifth  of  the  communities  are  strictly  open  country,  but  their 
existence  is  due  either  to  comparative  isolation  or  to  restricted  im¬ 
portance  of  the  towns  and  villages.  The  open-country  community 
is  not  characteristic  of  normal  rural  development  at  the  present 
time. 


92 


INTER-RELATIONS  OF  TOWN,  VILLAGE  AND  HAMLET 

The  average  community  has  at  its  center  a  place  of  from  25  to 
1,000  population. 

The  number  of  country  people  attached  to  a  trade  center  varies 
directly  as  the  size  of  the  center. 

The  proportion  of  country  population  to  the  population  of  the 
trade  center  to  which  it  is  attached,  varies  inversely  as  the  size  of 
the  center. 

As  an  aid  in  measuring  the  service  of  a  town  or  village  church 
to  its  contiguous  rural  area,  a  comparison  is  made  between  those 
town  and  village  communities  that  have  only  town  or  village  churches 
and  those  that  have  also  open  country  churches  within  the  bounds 
of  the  community. 

The  town  or  village  church  does  not  reach  the  open  country  popu¬ 
lation  as  effectively  as  it  reaches  the  population  in  the  trade  center. 

A  town  church  reaches  its  contiguous  country  population  about 
as  well  when  it  competes  with  country  churches  within  the  com¬ 
munity  as  when  it  does  not.  But  a  country  church  near  to  a  town 
is  apt  to  be  retarded  and  generally  ineffective. 

A  village  church  makes  less  headway  with  country  people  when 
it  competes  with  country  churches  within  its  community.  A  coun¬ 
try  church  is  not  apt  to  be  retarded  by  its  proximity  to  a  village. 

The  best  evangelistic  record  is  made  in  open-country  communities. 

In  town  communities  which  have  both  town  and  country  churches, 
the  town  churches  enroll  three  times  as  many  country  members  as 
do  the  country  churches.  There  are  more  country  members  in 
the  average  town  church  than  in  the  average  country  church  in 
these  communities.  The  average  village  church,  however,  has  fewer 
country  members  than  has  the  average  country  church. 

The  town  or  village  Sunday  school  is  ineffective  in  reaching 
country  people. 

Considering  the  town  and  country  area  as  a  whole,  the  town 
and  village  churches  are  negligible  factors  in  open  country  evangeliza¬ 
tion  and  religious  education.  In  general,  the  smaller  villages  are  of 
more  importance  in  this  field  than  are  the  larger  villages  and  towns. 

The  best  “farmers’  towns”  are  apt  to  have  the  best  farmers’ 
churches. 

There  is  no  demonstrable  relation  between  the  existence  of 
farmers’  cooperative  organizations  and  the  presence  or  absence  of 
cooperation  between  farmers  and  town  or  village  merchants. 


93 


CHAPTER  V 


Church  Growth  and  Decline 

THE  causes  of  church  growth  or  decline  are  frequently  ob¬ 
scure.  He  would  be  rash  indeed  who  would  attempt  to 
devise  a  formula  infallibly  to  gauge  any  church’s  possi¬ 
bilities  of  success.  The  Church  is  at  once  too  human  and  too  divine 
an  institution  to  be  reduced  to  a  formula.  Because  it  is  human  it 
has  a  way  of  developing  a  personality,  and  there  is  always  an  un¬ 
predictable  element  in  personality.  Because  it  is  divine  it  may  be 
expected  at  any  time  to  assert  itself  in  contradiction  to  all  known 
rules  and  to  succeed  in  spite  of  seemingly  unsurmountable  difficulties. 
Into  the  success  or  failure  of  a  church  many  factors  enter  in  vary¬ 
ing  combinations  and  with  varying  degrees  of  influence  in  particular 
cases.  Some  of  these  are  factors  which  wholly  elude  statistical 
analysis.  The  personality  of  a  minister,  for  example,  tenacity  of 
tradition,  the  subtle  influence  of  political  or  social  or  ethical  ideals, 
differences  in  education  or  in  prosperity,  these  and  similar  factors 
frequently  dominate  particular  situations.  Statistical  analysis  must 
be  confined  to  the  objective  and  the  measurable.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  general  tendencies  in  church  growth  which  can  be  described, 
the  direction  of  which  can  be  noted,  and  their  influence  measured 
with  some  degree  of  assurance.  An  individual  church  may  over¬ 
come  them,  but  on  the  average  they  lay  a  safe  basis  for  general 
policies  and  have  a  wide  range  of  applicability.  The  discussion  is 
necessarily  of  average  conditions.  Specific  instances  may  contradict 
the  conclusions  here  laid  down,  but  such  specific  instances  strengthen 
rather  than  invalidate  the  conclusions. 

The  question  of  church  growth  is  of  the  utmost  importance. 
The  declining  church,  like  the  abandoned  church,  whatever  the 
reasons  for  its  decline,  is  a  burden  upon  religious  faith.  It  is  a 
feeble  symbol  (a  dying  epistle,  one  might  say,  known  and  read  of  all 
men),  that  religion  as  there  exemplified  approaches  impotence.  The 
best  evidence  of  religious  efficiency  is  the  attitude  of  the  community 
towards  its  church.  This  attitude  is  most  clearly  indicated  by  the 
support  it  gives  the  church.  In  any  reasonably  stable  population 
the  church  which  is  rendering  efficient  and  indispensable  service 

94 


CHURCH  GROWTH  AND  DECLINE 


will  in  the  average  instance  be  maintained  and  adequately  supported. 
The  growth  of  a  church  thus  becomes  one  good  index  of  the  general 
state  of  health  of  religion  in  the  community. 

Throughout  this  discussion  it  will  be  difficult  always  to  distin¬ 
guish  clearly  between  cause  and  effect.  Very  frequently  a  condition 
which  is  the  result  of  church  decline  rather  than  its  cause,  or  which 
is  itself  induced  by  the  same  factors  which  have  influenced  decline, 
will  become  an  important  cause  of  further  decline.  It  is  hard  to 
know  where  to  draw  the  line.  Unless  otherwise  stated,  throughout 
this  discussion  a  gaining  church  will  be  understood  to  mean  a  church 
which  has  had  a  net  increase  of  membership  during  the  last  decade. 
A  ten-year  comparison  is  used  rather  than  the  record  of  a  single 
year,  as  in  most  of  the  regional  volumes,  because  a  ten-year  record 
is  less  likely  to  be  affected  by  exceptional  considerations.  There 
are  two  difficulties  in  its  use.  One  is  that  our  data  is  such  that  the 
comparison  of  the  present  with  ten  years  ago  must  be  made  on  the 
basis  of  total  rather  than  active  membership.  This  requires  the 
assumption  that  the  proportion  of  non-resident  and  inactive  members 
is  not  materially  different  in  the  two  totals.  The  second  difficulty 
is  that  this  limits  the  comparison  to  those  churches  which  are  at 
least  ten  years  old  and  for  which  ten-year  membership  records  are 
available.  For  most  of  the  items  considered,  data  are  available  for 
about  900  churches  in  the  twenty-five  counties  which  were  inten¬ 
sively  surveyed.  The  results  obtained  in  this  analysis  appear  by 
every  reasonable  test  to  be  worthy  of  acceptance  as  typical.  If  they 
vary  from  the  average  it  is  to  indicate  a  condition  slightly  better  than 
average,  since  it  is  the  small,  weak  churches  which  are  most  apt  to 
have  poor  records  and  which  therefore  have  to  be  thrown  out  in 
this  study  for  lack  of  data. 

One  cannot  help  but  be  impressed  by  the  sensitiveness  of  the 
Church  as  an  institution  to  all  changes  which  vitally  affect  the  so¬ 
ciety  supporting  it.  Various  tendencies  affecting  the  conditions  of 
country  life  during  the  past  decade  have  seriously  conditioned  the 
problem  of  the  Church.  The  most  obvious  of  these  changes  has 
been  the  shift  in  population.  The  towns  and  the  larger  villages  are 
generally  growing  in  population.  In  the  newer  sections  the  open- 
country  population  has  been  likewise  growing,  though  not  so  rapidly, 
but  in  the  older  settled  sections  the  population  of  hamlets  and  of 
the  open  country,  even  in  areas  whose  general  population  has  in¬ 
creased,  has  usually  suffered  loss  during  the  last  decade.  The  ten¬ 
dency  is  for  church  membership  to  follow  population  with  remark¬ 
able  similarity.  In  these  twenty-five  counties  two-thirds  of  the 

95 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


churches  which  are  gaining  are  in  communities  in  which  the  popu¬ 
lation  is  increasing,  and  at  least  one-quarter  more  of  the  churches 
are  registering  gain  in  the  face  of  a  stationary  rather  than  of  a 
decreasing  constituency.  Very  few  churches  are  found  which  were 
able  to  gain  consistently  while  the  population  which  they  served 
was  decreasing. 

Quite  as  important  in  its  effect  upon  the  Church  as  the  actual 
loss  of  country  population,  has  been  the  current  shift  of  interest  so 
apparent  in  many  places  toward  the  town  and  village,  which  is 
equivalent  to  a  further  loss  of  population  so  far  as  open-country 
institutions  are  concerned,  and  which  increases  the  initial  advan¬ 
tages  of  the  town  and  village  institutions.  Thus  88  per  cent,  of  all 
the  town  churches  are  growing,  63  per  cent,  of  the  village  churches 
are  growing,  while  but  47  per  cent,  of  the  hamlet  churches  are  grow¬ 
ing.  All  roads  lead  to  town.  The  effect  of  this  upon  the  country 
may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  chances  of  growth  in  the  country 
church  vary  according  to  its  distance  from  the  center.  Thus,  of  all' 
country  churches  which  are  situated  more  than  two  miles  from  a 
town  or  village,  55  per  cent,  are  growing,  but  of  the  country  churches 
which  are  situated  within  two  miles  of  the  town  or  village,  only  37 
per  cent,  are  growing.  The  margins  of  difference  between  these 
various  percentages  are  too  decisive  to  be  accidental.  It  is  hard  to 
maintain  a  church  in  a  decreasing  population  or  where  the  interest  of 
the  population  is  being  diverted  from  its  local  institutions  toward 
some  neighboring  larger  center ;  and  this  is  true  even  though  the 
areas  of  a  declining  population  are,  generally  speaking,  those  in 
which  the  country  church  is  most  firmly  rooted,  while  the  growing 
communities,  so  far  as  the  open  country  is  concerned,  are  generally 
in  areas  in  which  the  establishment  of  the  church  is  least  secure. 
But  decline  in  population  engenders  a  psychology  of  defeat;  and, 
in  fact,  this  explains  also  the  difficulty  of  the  church  which  must 
compete  with  the  increasing  influence  of  a  near-by  institution  more 
strategically  located.  The  consequence  is,  as  has  been  intimated  in 
other  connections,  that  the  farm  is  becoming  our  most  difficult 
church  problem  in  the  town  and  country  area. 

The  Church  is  sensitive  also  to  changes  in  the  composition  of 
population,  whether  the  total  is  increasing  or  decreasing.  The  aver¬ 
age  church  is  comparatively  inflexible  both  in  its  organization  and 
in  its  attitude  of  mind.  It  does  not  adjust  itself  easily  to  changing 
conditions,  nor  does  it  easily  assimilate  new  elements,  and  this  is 
particularly  true  of  the  country  church.  The  Church  is  an  instru¬ 
ment  of  conservation  rather  than  of  innovation.  Few  country  com- 

96 


CHURCH  GROWTH  AND  DECLINE 


munities  have  been  left  without  important  changes  in  the  composi¬ 
tion  of  their  population.  For  one  thing,  new  Americans  are  finding 
their  way  onto  the  land ;  and  for  another,  people  of  American  stock 
are  moving  from  region  to  region.  The  population  has  much  less 
stability  than  formerly.  It  is  only  the  exceptional  church  in  the 
country  that  can  assimilate  new  Americans  as  they  come  into  its 
community.  It  is  only  a  little  less  exceptional  for  a  church  to  as¬ 
similate  people  of  its  own  racial  stock  who  come  to  it  with  a  dif¬ 
ferent  background.  Thus  when  there  come  into  a  community  with 
non-liturgical  churches  considerable  numbers  of  people  with  a  litur¬ 
gical  tradition  in  their  religious  life,  or  vice  versa,  the  result  is  apt 
to  be  a  new  church  rather  than  a  strengthening  of  the  old  church. 
The  old  church  expects  the  newcomers  to  conform  to  its  ways.  Thus 
population  changes,  whether  in  number  or  in  kind,  strongly  influence 
the  welfare  of  the  church. 

Many  churches  have  shown,  however,  that  it  is  not  necessary  for 
a  church  to  fail  even  in  the  face  of  such  conditions.  These  condi¬ 
tions  make  the  problem  of  maintenance  and  survival  more  acute. 
The  church  to  survive  must  put  forth  special  effort.  It  will  thus 
survive  through  adapted  methods  of  church  work  and  administration, 
and  through  the  cultivation  of  more  flexible  attitudes.  There  seems 
to  be  no  valid  reason  why  the  church  if  properly  administered  should 
not  hold  its  people  in  the  country,  make  their  life  there  more  pleasant 
and  more  profitable,  and  reach  and  hold  the  newcomers  that  move 
into  its  neighborhood ;  but  the  methods  of  work  which  are  now 
in  vogue  are  not  generally  adequate  to  these  needs.  They  have  been 
carried  over  from  a  day  when  conditions  were  different.  The  at¬ 
tempt  to  meet  modern  problems  with  pioneer  methods  is  one  of  the 
reasons  compelling  the  country  church  to  face  the  bare  problem  of 
survival.  Most  country  churches  devote  all  of  their  available  energy 
to  the  mere  task  of  keeping  themselves  alive,  and  none  is  left  for 
a  consideration  of  the  problem  of  an  increased  efficiency. 

The  General  Situation 

Of  all  the  town  and  country  churches  studied,  a  little  less  than 
six  out  of  ten  are  growing.  The  proportion  varies  by  regions,  but 
only  in  the  West  does  the  number  growing  exceed  two-thirds  of  the 
total.  The  Colonial  region  has  the  lowest  average.  Here  less  than 
half  the  churches  are  growing,  while  only  slightly  more  than  one- 
third  have  made  a  net  gain  of  10  per  cent,  or  more  in  their  member¬ 
ship.  The  Middle  West,  which  is  next,  makes  a  considerably  better 

97 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


record,  with  61  per  cent,  growing,  while  55  per  cent,  gained  10  per 
cent,  or  more.  The  South  slightly  improves  upon  the  Middle  West, 
since  63  per  cent,  are  growing,  while  54  per  cent,  gained  as  much 
as  10  per  cent,  or  slightly  less.  The  best  records  by  a  wide  margin 
are  made  in  the  regions  farther  West.  The  Pacific  has  the  largest 
proportion  growing,  73  per  cent.  But  the  record  of  the  Range  is 
in  some  respects  better,  and  made  in  the  face  of  rather  more  difficult 
conditions.  Seventy-one  per  cent,  of  the  churches  in  the  Range 
counties  are  growing,  and  all  of  these  gained  at  least  10  per  cent., 
whereas  in  the  Pacific  only  64  per  cent,  of  the  total  gained  as  much 
as  10  per  cent.  For  the  country  as  a  whole,  just  about  every  other 
church  maintained  an  average  annual  gain  of  10  per  cent.,  which  it 
is  generally  considered  is  about  the  lowest  average  gain  that  offers 
real  security  for  the  future  of  a  church  in  areas  subject  to  such  ex¬ 
tensive  movements  of  population. 

The  regional  differences  are  very  clearly  observed  when  one 
considers  the  question  of  the  percentage  of  total  membership  gain 
for  the  ten  years.  The  order  of  the  regions  is  the  same,  but  the 
differences  between  them  are  more  marked.  Thus  in  the  Colonial 
region,  where  the  greatest  losses  in  population  occur,  the  net  gain 
of  all  the  town  and  country  churches  in  ten  years  was  less  than  8 
per  cent.  In  the  Middle  West  it  was  more  than  twice  that,  being 
practically  20  per  cent. ;  in  the  South  it  was  about  21  per  cent.  The 
percentages  of  these  two  regions  with  their  relatively  stable  popula¬ 
tion  are  on  the  whole  encouraging.  The  West,  of  course,  had  the 
advantage  of  rapid  increase  of  population,  which  is  the  real  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  net  gain  of  60  per  cent,  in  churches  of  the  Pacific 
region,  and  of  84  per  cent,  in  the  Range  churches.  The  variations 
by  counties  within  regions  were  considerable,  as  local  forces  oper¬ 
ated  to  affect  conditions  peculiar  to  the  given  county.  Thus,  while 
several  counties  registered  a  net  loss  in  ten  years,  one  county  in  the 
Range,  with  a  rather  small  total  membership  to  be  sure,  had  a  net 
gain  of  148  per  cent.  The  lowest  county  record  in  the  Range  is  by 
a  fair  margin  higher  than  the  highest  county  record  in  the  Colonial 
region. 


Methods  of  Church  Administration  and  Work 

In  all  the  older  settled  sections  of  America,  churches  were  planted 
to  serve  the  convenience  of  men  who  walked  or  drove  oxen.  We 
have  not  developed  any  consistent  policy  in  establishing  churches  to 
conform  to  current  conditions.  Mere  space  is  no  longer  the  dom- 

98 


CHURCH  GROWTH  AND  DECLINE 


inant  factor  that  it  once  was.  Nevertheless,  we  are  left  with 
churches  planted  as  though  distance  were  the  one  insurmountable 
obstacle  to  church  success.  Thus  through  large  areas  the  very  mul¬ 
tiplicity  of  churches  makes  the  struggle  for  survival  a  very  real  one. 
A  considerable  proportion  of  the  churches  of  these  areas  are  so 
seriously  cramped  that  they  have  no  real  opportunity  for  growth 
They  are  foredoomed  to  remain..small  and  weak  and  handicapped  by 
their  inability  to  develop  an  adequate 'program,  a  disadvantage  which 
is  bound  to  become  more  serious  as  the  demand  upon  the  church  in¬ 
creases.  This  tendency  may  be  shown  by  dividing  the  churches  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  .average  number  of  people  per  church  in  their  com¬ 
munities.  Four  groups  were  considered:  those  in  communities 
having  250  or  fewer  persons  per  church,  those  having  from  251  to 
500,  those  having  ’from  501  to  1,000,  and  those  having  more  than 
1,000.  About  one-third  of  the  entire  number  are  in  the  first  group, 
a  little-  less  in  the  second,  while  the  last  group  has  about  one- 
twentieth  of  the  entire  number.  In  the  first  group  46  per  cent,  of 
the  -churches  are  growing,  in  the  second  58  per  cent.,  in  the  third 
66  per  cent,  and  in  the  last  76  per  cent.  This  order  holds  for  every 
region  and  in  general,  though  not  uniformly,  for  nearly  every 
county. 

The  next  point*  of  importance  concerns  pastoral  leadership. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  business  efficiency  the  country  church 
lacks  adequate  supervision  and  direction.  There  are  few  kinds  of 
businesses  which  will  run  themselves  without  trained  personal  su¬ 
pervision;  and  the  church  is  not  one  of  these.  It  is  an  enterprise 
which  requires  constant  care.  The  minister  is  the  man  in  whom 
responsibility  for  this  care  is  vested.  The  efficiency  of  the  church 
will  depend  largely  upon  whether  his  ability  and  his  opportunity 
are  equal  to  his  task. 

One  serious  weakness  in  the  situation  is  the  widespread  practice 
of  dividing  up  a  minister  between  two  or  more  different  charges, 
compelling  him  to  attempt  to  do  in  several  different  places  work 
which  should  receive  his  constant  attention  in  each  place.  It  has 
been  noted  how  few  comparatively  of  the  country  churches  have 
the  undivided  attention  of  the  minister.  Whether  this  is  due  to 
the  minister’s  necessity  of  combining  another  occupation  with  that 
of  the  ministry,  or  to  the  fact  that  he  simultaneously  serves  two 
or  more  churches,  the  effect  is  alike  apparent  from  the  results  ob¬ 
tained  in  church  work.  The  larger  the  proportion  that  a  church 
has  of  a  minister’s  time,  the  better  is  its  chance  not  only  for  growth 
in  membership,  but  for  the  development  of  an  efficient  organization 

99 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


and  program.  This  has  appeared  in  the  discussions  of  virtually 
every  chapter  of  this  volume.  The  churches  whose  pastors  serve 
but  one  church  each  and  have  no  other  occupation  than  the  ministry, 
make  about  a  50  per  cent,  better  record  in  church  growth  than  those 
whose  pastors  divide  their  attention  between  two  occupations  or  two 
or  more  churches.  Three-fourths  of  the  former  are  growing,  and 
about  half  of  the  latter.  The  margin  of  difference  between  the  two 
types  of  churches  varies  somewhat  between  regions.  The  church 
with  the  part-time  of  a  minister  has  its  greatest  disadvantage  in 
those  areas  in  which  the  task  of  the  church  is  most  difficult,  where 
it  has  the  most  indifference  to  overcome  and  has  the  greatest  natural 
obstacles  with  which  to  contend.  Where  the  program  of  the  church 
is  less  pretentious  the  margin  of  difference  is  less. 

Preaching  can  be  done  by  a  part-time  minister,  or  by  a  non¬ 
resident  minister.  His  handicap  comes  in  relation  to  the  broader 
service  program  of  the  church.  Therefore,  in  the  South  the  size 
of  the  circuit  has  little  relation  to  membership  growth.  Elsewhere 
it  may  be  stated  as  a  law  that  the  larger  the  circuit  the  less  the  chance 
of  the  individual  church  registering  a  growth.  The  losing  churches 
average  two  and  one-third  churches  per  circuit,  the  gaining  churches 
average  about  one  and  two-thirds.  Of  course,  the  geographical  re¬ 
lation  to  each  other  of  the  churches  on  a  circuit  is  an  important  fac¬ 
tor.  Where  the  churches  are  so  situated  that  their  respective  par¬ 
ishes  are  virtually  contiguous,  making  in  effect  one  large  parish  with 
several  preaching  points  but  with  the  possibility  of  developing  a 
closely  integrated  program,  the  circuit  system  does  not  have  notice¬ 
ably  disadvantageous  results.  But  where  the  churches  are  so  sit¬ 
uated  that  their  parishes  are  quite  distinct,  and  a  considerable  amount 
of  travel  is  necessary  to  go  from  one  to  the  other,  which  of  course 
is  very  frequently  the  case,  the  handicap  is  much  more  serious.  It 
is  apparent,  however,  that  on  the  whole  it  is  bad  business  for  the 
church  to  send  a  part  of  a  man  to  do  a  whole  man’s  work. 

Closely  related  to  this  question  of  the  circuit  system  is  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  residence  of  ministers.  Obviously,  if  a  minister  serves 
a  circuit  of  four  widely  scattered  churches,  three  of  them  must 
necessarily  be  regarded  as  having  a  non-resident  minister.  Ab¬ 
sentee  landlordism  is  recognized  as  an  important  source  of  agri¬ 
cultural  stagnation ;  but  a  church  does  not  respond  any  more  readily 
to  absent  treatment  than  does  a  farm.  Yet  few  open-country 
churches  have  resident  pastors,  and  not  all  village  and  town  churches 
have  them.  Of  all  the  churches  which  are  gaining  in  membership, 
more  than  two-thirds  have  resident  ministers.  Of  all  the  churches 

100 


CHURCH  GROWTH  AND  DECLINE 


losing,  only  one-third  have  resident  ministers.  This  proportion 
holds  virtually  throughout  America.  The  chief  diversion  from  it 
is  in  the  Colonial  area,  where  the  decline  of  population  has  proven 
an  obstacle  which  even  a  resident  minister  cannot  overcome. 

This  difference  may  be  expressed  in  another  way.  Of  all  the 
churches  having  each  a  full-time  resident  minister,  three-fourths  are 
growing;  of  those  having  each  a  part-time  resident  minister,  nearly 
two-thirds  are  growing;  of  those  having  non-resident  ministers,  less 
than  45  per  cent,  are  growing.  The  proportion  of  growing  churches 
which  have  full-time  resident  pastors  is  more  than  double  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  losing  churches  which  have  such  pastors.  What  is  ob¬ 
viously  lacking  in  most  country  churches  is  the  minister  who  actually 
belongs  to  his  community,  who  lives  in  it,  who  speaks  its  language  and 
who  is  especially  trained  to  work  according  to  its  exact  needs.  Long¬ 
distance  ministering  is  inadequate  ministering,  and  in  the  long  run 
unsuccessful  ministering. 

The  size  of  the  membership  of  a  church  has  a  clear,  though  not 
decisive  bearing  upon  its  working  efficiency.  In  certain  districts 
many  churches  are  small  because  they  are  new,  just  as  their  com¬ 
munities  are  new.  They  are  in  the  line  of  growth  because  their 
population  is  growing.  They  may  be  expected  to  grow  because 
they  are  needed.  In  other  places,  where  the  rural  civilization  is 
older  and  more  mature,  and  where  the  population  is  not  growing, 
many  of  the  churches  are  small  because  the  churches  are  too  numer¬ 
ous  and  too  near  together.  They  do  not  stand  in  the  line  of  growth. 
Thus  not  a  few  churches  were  found  which  had  a  handful  of  mem¬ 
bers,  sometimes  but  two  or  three,  who  were  holding  onto  an  old 
church  which  long  since  had  ceased,  if  it  ever  had  begun,  to  fill  an 
important  place  in  the  religious  life  of  its  neighborhood.  The  impact 
of  most  of  these  small  churches  upon  their  communities  is  neces¬ 
sarily  slight.  They  can  ill  afford  to  pay  for  the  leadership  or  the 
equipment,  and  are  unable  to  develop  a  program  adequate  to  success. 
This  latter  group  of  small  churches  is  twice  the  size  of  the  former 
group.  The  small  church  that  is  needed  should  have  every  aid  to 
survive  and  grow  strong ;  but  two-thirds  of  the  smaller  sized  churches 
are  dead  weights  on  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  and  need  to  be 
discouraged  by  every  legitimate  device  known  to  the  administrative 
forces  of  American  Christianity. 

The  various  regional  volumes  in  this  series  have  shown  with  sur¬ 
prising  consistency  that  the  small  church,  judged  on  the  basis  of 
one  year’s  accomplishment,  is  not  a  going  concern.  Of  all  the 
churches  with  fewer  than  fifty  members,  only  one-third  are  growing. 

101 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Of  those  with  more  than  fifty  members,  about  70  per  cent,  are  grow¬ 
ing.  On  the  basis  of  the  last  ten  years’  record,  the  margin  between 
the  two  groups  is  not  so  wide,  but  it  is  wide  enough  nevertheless  to 
be  significant.  As  might  be  expected,  the  handicap  of  the  small 
church  is  greatest  in  the  open  country.  The  small  struggling  church 
must  be  recognized  as  presenting  one  of  the  most  difficult  phases 
of  the  whole  rural  religious  problem. 

The  program  of  a  church  clearly  influences  its  growth,  since 
it  concerns  both  the  appeal  of  the  church  to  the  interest  of  the  com¬ 
munity  and  its  service  to  the  needs  of  the  community.  A  gaining 
church,  for  example,  is  seldom  found  without  a  Sunday  school.  It 
is  much  more  likely  than  is  the  losing  church  to  have  a  service  of 
worship  every  Sabbath.  It  is  three  times  as  likely  to  have  a  class  to 
prepare  for  church  membership.  On  the  average  it  changes  its  pas¬ 
tor  less  frequently. 

Evangelism  in  the  narrow  sense  of  holding  special  evangelistic 
services  has  not  the  uniform  relation  to  church  growth  that  might 
be  expected.  Taking  the  country  as  a  whole,  the  gaining  churches 
had  rather  more  evangelistic  services  than  had  the  losing  ones. 
Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  gaining  churches  had  revivals  during  the  last 
five  years,  as  compared  with  something  less  than  half  of  the  churches 
with  a  declining  or  stationary  membership.  The  gaining  churches 
as  a  whole  averaged  one  evangelistic  service  every  other  year,  while 
the  losing  churches  averaged  one  every  third  year.  In  the  Middle} 
West  and  the  Range,  however,  the  churches  that  are  growing  had 
rather  fewer  evangelistic  services  than  those  that  are  declining.  In 
these  areas  the  churches  which  depend  most  largely  upon  formal  re¬ 
vival  are  apt  to  be  churches  which  regard  that  type  of  evangelism 
as  a  substitute  for  pastoral  work  or  community  service.  As  a  sub¬ 
stitute,  it  is  not  particularly  satisfactory.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
the  South  particularly,  formal  evangelism  is  the  major  part  of  the 
program  of  the  average  country  church  and  fills  a  much  larger 
place  in  the  religious  life  of  the  community  than  it  could  possibly 
do  in  any  other  region.  The  churches  here  have  double  the  average 
number  of  revivals,  most  churches  having  such  services  every  year. 

The  real  influence  of  a  broad-gauge,  seven-day  program  is  some¬ 
times  difficult  to  determine.  As  an  aid  in  measuring  it,  a  special 
analysis  was  made  of  all  churches  of  over  100  active  members  each 
which  had  made  a  net  gain  of  more  than  25  per  cent,  in  their  mem¬ 
bership  during  the  last  decade.  There  are  sixty  such  churches  in 
these  counties.  Being  above  the  average  in  size,  their  high  percen¬ 
tage  of  growth  is  not  so  apt  to  have  resulted  from  accidental  con- 

102 


CHURCH  GROWTH  AND  DECLINE 


siderations,  and  its  causes  are  easier  to  determine.  The  field  work¬ 
ers  who  studied  these  particular  churches  were  asked  to  give  a  care¬ 
ful  appraisal  of  the  reasons  for  their  growth.  In  perhaps  one-third 
of  the  cases  it  was  the  judgment  of  the  surveyor  that  growth  of 
population,  together  with  a  strong  conventional  program  with  an 
organization  sufficiently  well-knit  to  be  able  to  take  advantage  of 
prosperity,  was  probably  the  biggest  element  in  the  situation.  In  half 
of  the  whole  number,  credit  was  given  to  the  influence  of  a  well- 
rounded  program  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  community  and  di¬ 
rected  by  a  well-equipped  leader  of  appealing  personality.  In  the 
remaining  number  of  cases,  leadership  alone  was  set  down  as  the 
determining  factor;  and  in  each  instance  this  leadership  was  rapidly 
effecting  a  change  in  the  program. 

Many  of  the  denominations  have  developed  characteristic  dif¬ 
ferences  in  their  general  programs  of  work,  as  in  their  organizations. 
Not  all  of  the  denominations  at  work  in  these  counties  are  repre¬ 
sented  by  a  sufficient  number  of  churches  to  permit  a  trustworthy 
generalization.  Considering,  however,  those  denominations  which 
have  in  these  counties  a  sufficient  number  of  churches  for  a  fair 
judgment,  their  order  on  the  basis  of  the  proportion  of  their  churches 
which  registered  a  net  growth  during  the  ten-year  period  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  Reformed  churches  lead  the  list  with  86  per  cent. ;  Congre¬ 
gational,  second  with  71  per  cent.;  Baptists  third  with  68  per  cent.; 
Presbyterian  fourth  with  65  per  cent. ;  Christian  fifth  with  63  per 
cent. ;  Lutheran  sixth  with  60  per  cent.  In  only  two  other  denomina¬ 
tions  were  more  than  half  the  churches  growing.  These  were  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  with  53  per  cent.,  and  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
with  52  per  cent.  Of  the  various  forms  of  community,  federated 
or  union  churches  only  38  per  cent,  were  growing. 

In  concluding  this  discussion  it  may  be  noted  that  in  these 
twenty-five  counties  during  the  last  ten  years  142  churches  have 
been  abandoned.  There  are,  of  course,  many  more  abandoned 
churches  in  these  counties,  but  the  others  suspended  work  more 
than  ten  years  ago.  Of  these  142,  membership  records  are  available 
for  106.  With  four  exceptions,  they  all  had  fewer  than  fifty  mem¬ 
bers  in  1910.  Their  total  was  1,274,  or  an  average  of  twelve  per 
church.  They  are  distributed  widely  throughout  the  country,  oc¬ 
curring  in  every  region.  The  largest  number  proportionately  were 
in  the  Range,  and  the  smallest  number  in  the  South.  That  is  per¬ 
fectly  understandable.  There  are  many  churches  in  the  South  main¬ 
taining  a  form  of  service  which,  if  they  were  in  the  Range,  would 
have  been  long  since  abandoned.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  more  difficult 

103 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


to  maintain  a  church  in  the  newer  frontier  counties,  and  to  live  at 
all  they  have  to  have  a  higher  standard  of  equipment  and  efficiency. 
In  the  South  particularly,  many  churches  are  able  to  keep  going  on 
the  minimum  of  equipment,  service  and  finance.  The  abandoned 
church  presents  one  very  unfortunate  aspect  of  our  rural  church 
policy.  Few  denominations  systematically  close  out  their  declining 
churches  when  their  usefulness  is  ended  and  deliver  their  membership 
over  to  some  other  living  congregation.  The  result  is  that  many 
churches  are  permitted  to  languish  after  they  have  ceased  to  be  of 
any  effective  value,  and  when  they  are  finally  abandoned  their  mem¬ 
bership  is  very  likely  to  be  lost  to  organized  church  work. 

To  offset  the  loss  of  these  churches,  ninety-one  new  churches  were 
founded  during  the  last  ten  years.  Sixty  of  these  in  the  open  country 
now  have  1,910  members,  twenty-seven  in  the  villages  1,331  mem¬ 
bers,  and  four  in  towns  have  305  members.  Of  the  town  churches 
two  are  in  the  Middle  West  and  two  in  the  Colonial  region.  Of  the 
village  churches  all  but  one  are  in  the  Pacific,  Range  and  Middle 
West  areas.  Country  churches  were  in  every  region,  but  four-fifths 
of  them  were  in  the  Range  and  in  the  South. 

The  various  points  which  this  discussion  has  developed  are 
by  no  means  mutually  exclusive.  They  are,  in  fact,  all  interrelated, 
and  which  is  the  fundamental  cause  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  Clearly, 
however,  the  gravest  church  problem  of  these  counties  at  the  present 
time  is  the  problem  of  making  efficient  those  churches  upon  which 
the  farming  population  depends.  This  demands  some  fundamental 
reconstruction  of  the  methods  of  church  work  and  administration, 
with  a  recognition  of  the  broad  inclusive  nature  of  the  problem,  and 
a  serious  and  scientific  effort  to  equip  the  churches  adequately  to 
cope  with  the  situation. 


Chapter  Summary 

It  is  not  possible  fully  to  formulate  the  law  of  church  growth  or 
decline. 

There  are  unpredictable  elements  in  church  success  which  cannot 
be  statistically  analyzed  or  reduced  to  a  rule. 

It  is  possible,  however,  to  state  the  general  tendencies  which  will 
hold  good  in  most  cases. 

Church  membership  tends  to  follow  population. 

Few  churches  can  gain  consistently  in  a  diminishing  population. 

The  chances  of  growth  of  a  country  church  vary  according  to 
its  distance  from  town;  the  farther  away  it  is,  the  better. 

104 


CHURCH  GROWTH  AND  DECLINE 


The  average  church  is  adversely  affected  by  changes  in  the  racial 
or  social  composition  of  its  population. 

More  than  two-fifths  of  all  town  and  country  churches  are  not 
growing.  Only  one-half  make  an  annual  membership  gain  of  10 
per  cent,  or  more. 

The  multiplication  of  the  number  of  churches  in  proportion  to 
the  population  decreases  the  individual  church’s  >chance  of  growth. 

The  church  which  has  the  full  time  of  a  minister  has  a  50  per 
cent,  better  chance  for  growth  than  has  the  one  with  only  part  time 
of  a  minister.  The  larger  the  circuit  the  slighter  the  chance  of 
growth. 

The  percentage  of  churches  that  are  growing  varies  according 
to  average  size.  In  a  stable  or  diminishing  population  the  small 
church  is  apt  to  be  on  the  down  grade. 

A  broad-gauge  program,  combining  evangelism,  religious  educa¬ 
tion  and  service,  greatly  increases  the  probability  of  growth. 

One  hundred  and  forty-two  churches  have  been  abandoned  in 
twenty-five  counties  within  ten  years.  Ninety-one  new  churches 
have  been  organized. 


105 


CHAPTER  VI 


Home  Mission  Aid  as  a  Factor  in  Rural  Church 

Development 

THE  home  missions  field  is  revealed  only  in  part  in  these  sur¬ 
veys.  We  see  here  chiefly  one  side  of  the  great  task  of 
home  missions  as  it  has  been  developed  by  the  larger 
denominational  boards.  The  service  of  home  missions  to  the  ex¬ 
ceptional  elements  of  our  population  such  as  the  American  Indian, 
the  Spanish-speaking  population,  the  lumberjacks  and  other  migrant 
laborers,  the  immigrant  and  the  Southern  Mountaineer  is  treated 
only  in  paragraphs  or  at  most  in  a  chapter  in  the  regional  volumes 
of  the  series  of  which  this  book  is  a  summary. 

The  Field 

What  is  shown  is  chiefly  the  old  historic  field  of  home  missions — 
the  American  village  or  country  neighborhood  where  the  home  mis¬ 
sions  effort  expresses  itself  in  a  subsidy  to  an  organized  church 
to  assist  it  in  the  maintenance  of  a  pastor  either  alone  or  in  con¬ 
junction  with  other  churches.  These  aided  churches  are,  theoreti¬ 
cally  at  least,  potentially  self-supporting,  the  historic  exhortation 
of  home  missions  to  its  children  being  “come  to  self-support.”  While 
other  types  of  mission  work  have  had  a  constantly  increasing  im¬ 
portance  for  many  years,  this  type  is  still  the  largest  single  segment 
of  the  whole  task  and  occasions  from  a  third  to  two-thirds  of  the 
home  mission  expenditures  of  most  denominations.  The  methods 
of  administration  vary  for  different  denominations;  but  however 
the  responsibility  may  be  divided  among  national,  state  and  district 
agencies,  the  usual  method  of  aiding  churches  in  village  and  country 
communities  is  by  the  provision  of  grants  of  money,  ordinarily  for 
a  period  of  one  year  but  renewable  indefinitely,  to  apply  on  pastors’ 
salaries. 

Obviously,  what  is  here  said  in  description,  comment  or  criticism, 
applies  only  to  this  particular  type  of  home  mission  work  and  has 
no  application  to  the  broader  aspects  of  denominational  home  mis¬ 
sionary  programs. 


106 


HOME  MISSION  AID  AS  A  FACTOR 


Extent  of  Rural  Home  Mission  Aid 

In  these  twenty-five  counties,  206  town  and  country  churches 
out  of  a  total  of  1,052,  or  about  one  in  five,  receive  home  mission 
aid.  In  addition  to  these,  five  aided  churches  in  small  cities  in 
Orange  County,  California,  are  also  considered.  These  were  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  original  survey  because  of  their  close  relationship  to 
the  surrounding  countryside.  The  percentage  of  all  town  and  coun¬ 
try  churches  which  are  aided  varies  greatly  by  regions.  It  is  lowest 
in  the  Middle  West  where  less  than  10  per  cent,  are  aided,  and  is 
highest  on  the  Range  where  the  proportion  is  nearly  two-thirds.  The 
South  and  the  Colonial  region  have  about  the  same  proportion,  ap¬ 
proximately  one-sixth.  On  the  Pacific  Coast  28  per  cent,  are  aided. 
Twenty-four  of  the  twenty-five  counties  contain  aided  churches. 

In  certain  particulars  the  data  drawn  from  these  counties  can 
be  compared  with  data  secured  from  a  limited  analysis  of  5,677 
churches  in  196  counties.  In  general  the  conclusions  drawn  from 
the  smaller  number  of  churches  are  applicable  to  the  larger  number 
and  so  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  typical  of  the  country  as  a  whole. 
The  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  aided  churches  in  the  196 
counties  is  slightly  lower  than  in  the  twenty-five  counties,  because 
of  the  inclusion  in  the  larger  group  of  a  proportionately  larger 
number  of  Middle  West  and  Prairie  counties;  but  the  relative  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  different  regions  is  the  same  and  (except  for  the  Range 
which  shows  a  lower  percentage)  the  regional  percentages  are  about 
the  same.  There  is  very  little  difference  in  the  proportions  of  town, 
village,  and  country  churches  which  are  aided.  Twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  town,  18  per  cent,  of  the  village  and  19  per  cent,  of  the 
country  churches  are  subsidized.  The  proportion  of  town  churches 
aided  is  obviously  higher  than  the  average,  because  a  disproportion¬ 
ate  number  of  the  town  churches  studied  are  in  markedly  missionary 
areas.  In  the  196  counties,  18  per  cent,  of  the  town  churches  are 
aided,  which  is  about  the  average.  In  each  of  these  three  groups  the 
proportion  aided  varies  regionally  in  virtually  the  same  way  as  was 
indicated  for  all  churches  combined. 

Distribution  of  Aided  Churches  by  Denominations 

The  aided  churches  in  these  twenty-five  counties  are  drawn  from 
thirty  different  denominations  and  represent  23  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number  of  their  churches.  Several  other  denominations  are 
present  in  the  counties  but  do  not  happen  to  aid  any  of  their  churches. 

107 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Considering  those  denominations  which  have  as  many  as  twenty- 
five  subsidized  churches  in  the  aggregate,  and  making  certain  com¬ 
binations  of  closely  related  denominations  (as  combining  the  churches 
of  the  various  Lutheran  synods),  we  have  the  following: 

Table,  XX 

PROPORTION  OF  CHURCHES  IN  TWENTY-FIVE  COUNTIES 
RECEIVING  HOME  MISSION  AID,  BY  DENOMINATIONS 


Total  Number 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

of  Churches 

Aided 

Aided 

Protestant  Episcopal  . 

47 

23 

49 

M.  E.  South  . 

69 

30 

42 

M.  E . 

268 

73 

27 

Lutheran  (various  synods)  . 

57 

14 

25 

Congregational  . 

39 

9 

23 

Presbyterian,  U.  S.  A . 

82 

16 

20 

Baptist,  South  Convention  . 

77 

11 

14 

Baptist,  North  Convention  . 

90 

10 

11 

Disciples  and  Church  of  Christ  . 

48 

3 

6 

All  others  . 

111 

22 

20 

The  Problem  of  Competition  in  Home  Mission  Aid 

In  order  to  get  a  practical  definition  of  competition  it  was  con¬ 
sidered  to  exist  where  there  was  more  than  one  Protestant  church 
within  the  same  town  or  village ;  or  where,  unless  some  physical 
barrier  intervened,  a  country  church  was  within  five  miles  of  an¬ 
other  Protestant  church.  Obviously  such  a  definition  might  be  un¬ 
fair  if  it  were  held  to  assume  that  such  competition  was  necessarily 
injurious  or  undesirable.  There  is  often  need  for  more  than  one 
church  in  a  town  or  village  or  within  an  open  country  area  described 
by  a  radius  of  five  miles.  The  above,  however,  gives  a  workable 
principle. 

In  this  sense  only  thirty-four  out  of  the  211  aided  churches  have 
entirely  free  fields.  Of  these  thirty-four,* eighteen  are  in  the  Range 
and  eleven  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  where  about  one-third  of  all  the 
aided  churches  have  free  fields.  The  Range  and  the  Pacific  Coast 
constitute  the  home  mission  area  in  which  the  national  boards,  gen¬ 
erally  speaking,  operate.  In  the  rest  of  the  country,  five  of  123 
aided  churches  have  free  fields.  This  is,  generally  speaking,  the 
area  where  state  or  district  associations  control  home  mission  policy. 
Of  the  thirty-four  non-competing  churches,  fifteen  are  in  small  vil¬ 
lages  and  nineteen  are  in  the  open  country  or  hamlets.  Thus  of  the 
aided  town  churches  none  has  a  free  field.  Of  the  aided  village 
churches  25  per  cent,  and  of  the  aided  country  churches  15  per  cent, 
are  non-competitive. 


108 


HOME  MISSION  AID  AS  A  FACTOR 


Towns 

The  twenty-six  aided  town  and  small  city  churches  are  situated 
in  twelve  different  communities  with  an  average  population  of  5,220. 
In  addition  to  their  aided  churches  they  have  sixty  self-supporting 
churches.  This  is,  all  told,  one  church  for  every  728  people  and 
one  self-supporting  church  for  every  1,044.  The  theoretic  propor¬ 
tion  of  churches  to  population,  on  which  most  denominational  lead¬ 
ers  are  agreed  as  an  abstract  principle,  is  one  church  to  every  1,000 
people.  This  proportion  would  be  practically  realized  in  these  towns 
and  villages  if  there  were  no  subsidized  churches.  This  does  not, 
of  course,  take  account  of  the  country  population  contiguous  to  these 
towns  and  cities  and  potentially  at  least  included  in  the  parishes  of 
their  churches. 


Villages 

The  forty-five  aided  churches  in  villages  which  are  competitive 
are  in  thirty-eight  communities  with  an  average  population  of  865. 
In  addition  to  their  forty-five  aided  churches  they  have  seventy- 
four  self-supporting  churches.  This  is,  all  told,  one  church  for  every 
276  people,  or  one  self-supporting  church  for  every  444.  The  fifteen 
village  churches  which  do  not  have  competition  are  in  fifteen  vil¬ 
lages  with  an  average  population  of  457. 

Types  of  Churches 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  mere  presence  of  two  churches 
in  a  community  does  not  of  itself  signify  actual  competition.  For 
one  thing,  they  may  reach,  by  reason  of  language,  entirely  different 
elements  of  the  community.  There  are  levels  of  competition  occa¬ 
sioned  by  differences  in  polity,  doctrine,  service  and  general  point 
of  view  so  marked  as  to  make  cooperation  difficult,  under  existing 
conditions. 

Thus,  to  be  specific,  an  Episcopal  church  and  a  Congregational 
church,  or  a  Presbyterian  church  and  a  Baptist  church,  or  a  Metho¬ 
dist  church  and  a  Holy  Roller  church  may  attempt  to  justify  com¬ 
petition  with  one  another  on  grounds  which  would  not  be  at  all  con¬ 
vincing  as  regards  a  Presbyterian  and  a  Congregational  church  in 
competition.  This  being  so  (whether  it  should  be  so  or  not  is  an¬ 
other  matter),  these  aided  churches  have  been  divided  into  five 
groups  representing  in  general  five  different  types  of  polity  and  point 

109 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


of  view.  For  practical  purposes  four  groups  may  be  considered, 
since  one  of  the  five  happens  to  have  only  one  representative,  a 
Pentecostal  Church  of  the  Nazarene.  These  groups,  with  the  num¬ 
ber  of  aided  churches  included  for  each,  are  shown  in  Table  XXI. 


Table  XXI 

CHURCHES  RECEIVING  HOME  MISSION  AID,  CLASSIFIED  BY 

TYPES  OF  DENOMINATIONS 

Number  of 
Aided  Churches 


Group  I.  Churches  of  denominations  which  emphasize  the 

necessity  of  baptism  by  immersion  .  26 

Group  II.  The  churches  of  liturgical  denominations  elimi¬ 
nating  those  which  exclusively  use  some  language  other 

than  English  .  30 

Group  III.  Churches  exclusively  using  some  language  other 

than  English  .  11 

Group  IV.  Churches  of  the  “eccentric”  or  highly  emotional 

type  . 1 

Group  V.  All  other  Protestant  churches  but  principally 

Methodist,  Congregational,  and  Presbyterian  .  143 


In  the  discussion  hereafter  these  groups  will  be  referred  to  by  the 
above  numbers. 

The  thesis  here  is  that  competition  within  a  group  (except  per¬ 
haps  in  Group  III  if  there  happen  to  be  two  churches  using  different 
foreign-languages  in  the  same  community)  is  less  defensible  than 
competition  between  churches  of  different  groups.  The  limiting  of 
competition  to  churches  of  other  groups,  while  far  from  the  ideal 
of  Christian  cooperation,  would  nevertheless  be  one  long  step  along 
the  way  toward  it.  By  the  use  of  the  above  formula  we  arrive  at 
the  following  conclusion  on  the  amount  of  competition  occasioned 
by  home  mission  aid : 


Table  XXII 

COMPETITION,  IN  TWENTY-FIVE  COUNTIES,  AMONG 
CHURCHES  RECEIVING  HOME  MISSION  AID,  BY 

GROUPS 


Total  number  of  aided  churches  that  do  not  compete  with  any 

church  using  the  same  language  .  41 

Number  without  any  competition  .  34 

Number  that  compete  only  with  a  church  that  uses  a  different 

language  .  7 

Number  that  compete  only  with  churches  of  other  groups  (ex¬ 
clusive  of  churches  using  a  different  language) .  41 

Number  that  compete  with  aided  churches  of  same  group....  78 

Number  that  compete  with  self-supporting  churches  only  of 

the  same  group  .  51 

Total  number  of  aided  churches .  211 

110 


HOME  MISSION  AID  AS  A  FACTOR 


In  effect,  therefore,  there  is  no  competition  in  about  one-fifth  of 
the  cases.  In  another  one-fifth  the  competition  is  confined  to 
churches  of  other  groups.  In  three-fifths  of  the  cases  there  is  com¬ 
petition  with  churches  of  the  same  group,  and  in  60  per  cent,  of 
these  cases  it  is  aggravated  by  the  further  fact  that  aided  church 
competes  with  aided  church.  Groups  I,  II,  and  V,  which  include 
the  greatest  proportion  of  the  aided  churches,  may  be  contrasted  in 
certain  of  these  particulars  as  follows : 


Table  XXIII 

DEGREES  OF  COMPETITION  IN  THREE  GROUPS  OF  CHURCHES 

RECEIVING  HOME  MISSION  AID 


Per  cent,  without  competition  . 

Per  cent,  competing  only  with  other 

groups  . 

Per  cent,  competing  with  aided  churches 

of  same  group  . 

Per  cent,  competing  with  self-supporting 
churches  only,  of  same  group . 

Total  per  cent,  competing  with  churches 
of  same  group  . 


Group  I 
11.5 

Group  II 
3.3 

Group  V 
19.6 

30.8 

63.3 

10.5 

15.4 

13.3 

47.5 

42.3 

20.0 

22.4 

57.7 

33.3 

69.9 

Group  V  includes,  of  course,  more  denominations  and  many  more 
churches  than  either  of  the  others  and  hence  the  churches  in  this 
group  have  greater  opportunity  for  overlapping.  These  facts  war¬ 
rant  several  observations : 


Missionary  Motives 

(i)  Service  to  unserved  communities  plays  rather  an  insignificant 
part  in  home  mission  policy  as  exemplified  in  these  counties.  In 
the  Range  and  Pacific  Coast  areas,  where  the  large  mission  boards 
chiefly  operate  in  town  and  country  fields,  service  is  the  motive  in 
one-third  of  the  communities  to  which  aid  is  extended.  In  the 
Middle  West,  South,  and  East,  where  mission  work  is  chiefly 
financed  by  self-supporting  state  organizations,  this  motive  operates 
in  only  five  out  of  123  instances.  East  and  West  the  controlling 
motive  seems  to  be  to  provide  a  particular  type  of  religious  organ¬ 
ization  and  services  irrespective  of  the  possible  disadvantages  which 
may  result  from  religious  division  within  the  community. 

(2)  Granted  that  there  are  essential  differences  in  religious 
values  among  these  groups  sufficient  to  justify  inter-group  competi¬ 
tion,  the  fact  remains  that  competition  with  churches  of  the  same 

111 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

group  is  a  dominant  factor  of  home  mission  policy.  It  controls  in 
more  than  three-fifths  of  the  total  number  of  cases.  The  question 
arises  as  to  whether  there  is  a  sufficient  difference  in  religious  values 
between  say,  the  churches  of  two  different  Lutheran  synods,  or 
between  a  Congregational  and  a  Presbyterian  church,  or  a  Congre¬ 
gational  and  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church  to  justify  such  com¬ 
petition.  As  between  the  three  groups  here  considered,  the  compe¬ 
tition  of  this  sort  appears  in  one-third  of  the  cases  in  Group  II,  in 
58  per  cent,  of  Group  I,  and  in  70  per  cent,  of  Group  V.  While  the 
total  number  of  cases  here  is  not  large,  considering  the  selection  of 
the  counties,  there  is  no  apparent  reason  to  suppose  that,  taken  as 
a  whole,  it  is  not  a  fairly  representative  sample. 

Some  Examples 

This  whole  situation  may  be  made  clear  by  a  somewhat  more 
detailed  examination  of  the  factors  for  each  one  of  the  groups  sepa¬ 
rately.  The  largest,  No.  V,  includes  143  aided  churches  representing 
ten  denominations.  One-half  of  these  are  Methodist  Episcopal,  one- 
fifth  are  Methodist  Episcopal  South,  one-ninth  are  Presbyterian,  and 
one-sixteenth  Congregationalist.  These  four  denominations  have 
125  of  the  total.  Exactly  one  hundred  of  these  143  churches  are 
in  competition  with  other  churches  of  the  same  group.  Fifteen 
more  compete  with  churches  of  other  groups  only,  and  twenty-eight 
have  no  competition.  Of  the  one  hundred  churches  which  compete 
with  others  of  the  same  group,  the  most  definite  form  of  overlapping 
possible,  thirty-five  compete  each  with  a  single  other  church ;  eleven 
compete  with  two  other  churches ;  sixteen  with  three ;  eight  with 
four;  eight  with  five;  eighteen  with  from  six  to  ten,  and  four  with 
eleven  or  more.  The  total  number  of  other  churches  of  the  same 
group  with  which  these  100  aided  churches  compete  is  363,  or  an 
average  of  3.6  other  churches  each.  The  maximum  number  of 
other  churches  of  the  same  group  in  any  instance  is  thirteen,  but 
one  in  every  seven  competes  with  six  or  more.  These  cases  of  ex¬ 
treme  competition  are  almost  all  in  small  rural  communities  with 
a  very  high  proportion  of  churches  to  population.  In  a  closely  set¬ 
tled  rural  section  it  is  hard  to  make  out  a  case  of  real  need  for  a 
home  mission  aided  church  which  has  as  many  as  thirteen  other 
churches  of  its  own  kind  within  five  miles. 

Moreover,  in  sixty-eight  of  the  one  hundred  cases,  other  home 
mission  churches  of  the  same  group  are  involved  in  this  competition ; 
and  in  thirty-eight  of  these  cases  more  than  one  other  aided  church 

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is  present.  The  maximum  number  of  aided  churches  of  the  same 
group  in  a  single  community  is  six ;  but  thirty  aided  churches  have 
each  one  such  aided  competitor,  seventeen  have  two,  nine  have  three, 
ten  have  four  and  two  have  five  each.  The  remaining  thirty-two  of 
these  one  hundred  churches  compete  only  with  self-supporting 
churches.  Again,  it  would  be  difficult  to  make  out  a  clear  case  of  real 
need  for  six  home  mission  aided  churches,  and  perhaps  as  many 
self-supporting  churches,  within  a  radius  of  five  miles  in  a  closely 
settled  rural  area.  This  multiple  duplication  of  home  mission  aid 
in  the  same  community  is  almost  exclusively  a  phenomenon  of  the 
East,  Middle  West,  and  South. 

In  addition  to  the  instances  noted  above,  seventy-nine  of  these 
100  churches  also  compete  with  churches  of  other  groups  which  are 
present  in  these  communities  in  varying  numbers.  In  thirty-one 
of  the  seventy-nine  instances  where  such  other  churches  are  present, 
home  mission  aid  is  a  factor  in  their  maintenance.  In  one  instance 
there  were  eighteen  churches  of  all  groups  in  one  community,  in¬ 
cluding  several  aided  churches  of  Group  V.  On  the  average,  for 
each  aided  church  of  Group  V  these  communities  have  a  fraction 
more  than  four  other  Protestant  churches  of  various  sorts. 

Group  I  contains  twenty-six  aided  churches  of  six  denomina¬ 
tions.  Baptists  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  Conventions  pre¬ 
dominate.  The  general  run  of  facts  here  is  not  very  dissimilar  from 
those  presented  for  Group  V.  Of  these  twenty-six  churches,  fifteen 
are  in  competition  with  other  churches  of  the  same  group,  eight  com¬ 
pete  with  churches  of  other  groups  only,  while  three  have  no  com¬ 
petition.  Of  the  fifteen  which  compete  with  other  churches  of  the 
same  group,  ten  share  their  fields  with  but  one  other  such  church, 
and  five  with  two.  In  four  communities  the  six  other  churches  in¬ 
volved  are  also  aided.  In  all  fifteen  instances  churches  of  other 
groups  are  also  present  in  the  communities  and  in  ten  cases  by  vir¬ 
tue  of  home  mission  aid.  On  the  average,  for  each  aided  church  of 
this  group  there  are  three  other  Protestant  churches  of  various  sorts 
within  the  same  community. 

Group  II  has  thirty  aided  churches  of  six  denominations.  Twen¬ 
ty-three  of  the  thirty  are  Protestant  Episcopal.  Five  others  are  of 
some  branch  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Even  here  there  is  intra¬ 
group  competition  in  one-third  of  the  cases  and  inter-group  in  two- 
thirds.  Only  one  is  without  any  competition. 

On  the  average  the  communities  in  which  these  thirty  aided 
churches  are  located  have,  for  each  aided  church  of  this  group,  five 
other  Protestant  churches  of  various  sorts. 

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TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Group  No.  Ill  includes  eleven  aided  churches  representing  six 
denominations  and  four  languages.  Nine  of  the  eleven  are  from 
some  branch  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  one  is  Baptist,  and  one  is 
Methodist  Episcopal.  Four  of  these  churches  compete  with  other 
churches  using  the  same  language,  and  in  two  instances  the  other 
church  is  also  aided.  Five  are  in  communities  having  other  Protes¬ 
tant  churches  but  none  using  the  same  language.  Two  have  undis¬ 
puted  possession  of  their  fields. 

Where  Competition  Centers 

Of  the  whole  number  of  aided  churches,  thirty-seven  are  in 
places  of  1,500  or  over.  It  would  not  be  exactly  true  to  say  that 
competition  is  uniformly  most  acute  in  communities  of  this  size,  but 
it  is  usually  most  deeply  rooted  and  most  difficult  of  access.  These 
thirty-seven  churches  are  in  twenty  different  places,  averaging  in 
population  3,990.  In  three  of  these  towns  the  home  missions  enter¬ 
prise  has  a  vital  contribution  to  make.  In  them  eleven  out  of  four¬ 
teen  churches  are  aided.  The  other  seventeen  towns  have,  all  told, 
115  churches,  or  an  average  of  nearly  seven  per  town.  Of  these, 
twenty-six  are  aided.  Without  these  subsidized  churches  there 
would  still  be  eighty-nine  in  these  towns,  an  average  of  more  than 
five  per  town,  or  about  one  church  for  every  800  people.  Of  these 
twenty-six  aided  churches,  four  are  foreign-language  churches.  Of 
the  others,  seven  belong  to  Group  I,  eight  to  Group  II,  and  seven 
to  Group  V.  It  will  be  noted,  therefore,  that  of  all  of  the  aided 
churches  of  Groups  I  and  II,  more  than  one-fourth  are  in  towns  of 
the  sort  where  home  mission  aid  is  least  needed  and  hardest  to 
justify  by  reason  of  the  present  abundance  of  churches  of  many 
sorts.  Of  all  the  aided  churches  of  Group  V,  only  about  one  in 
eighteen  is  in  a  town  of  this  size. 

A  full  discussion  of  the  contribution  to  general  religious  welfare 
made  by  home  mission  aid  will  be  found  in  each  of  the  published 
regional  and  community  surveys  of  this  series.  The  details  given 
there  need  not  be  recapitulated  here.  It  is  quite  apparent,  however, 
that  in  these  counties,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  where  economic 
conditions  are  hardest  and  social  and  religious  conditions  are  the 
least  developed,  most  of  the  home  mission  aid  which  is  now  granted 
could  be  withdrawn  without  any  danger  whatsoever  of  leaving  com¬ 
munities  with  inadequate  religious  facilities.  Such  withdrawal  of 
aid  might  perhaps  discourage  a  perpetuation  of  injurious  division 
and  strife.  Aside  from  any  possible  loss  in  denominational  prestige, 

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HOME  MISSION  AID  AS  A  FACTOR 


which  a  purely  objective  study  such  as  this  cannot  undertake  to 
measure,  on  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  data  at  hand  it  seems 
that  149  of  the  211  aided  churches  in  these  counties  might  be  dis¬ 
pensed  with  to  the  general  advantage  of  the  religious  life  in  their 
communities  and  to  the  greater  glory  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 


Amount  of  Aid 

The  average  subsidy  granted  these  aided  churches  is  $216  per 
church.  This  is  within  $12  of  the  average  for  the  196  counties. 
By  groups  the  averages  are  as  follows : 

Group  I  .  $403.00 

Group  II  .  236.00 

Group  III  .  212.00 

Group  V  .  179.00 

The  individual  denominations  which  have  the  largest  number  of 
aided  churches  in  these  counties,  compare  in  their  average  subsidies 
as  follows:  The  Northern  Baptists,  with  an  average  of  $470  top  the 
list.  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  has 
$380.  Southern  Baptists  average  $327,  United  Brethren  $304,  the 
Congregationalists,  $251,  Protestant  Episcopal,  $201,  Methodist 
Episcopal  South,  $164,  and  Methodist  Episcopal,  $118.  The  aver¬ 
ages  of  the  two  last  named  are  obviously  in  accord  with  the  policy 
of  these  denominations  in  maintaining  many  small  churches  near 
together  combined  in  circuits  where  naturally  the  average  subsidy 
per  church  is  small,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  certain  denominations, 
for  example,  the  Presbyterians,  which  have  a  more  highly  centralized 
policy.  The  average  salaries  paid  are,  of  course,  also  a  factor  in 
the  size  of  subsidy ;  but  this  will  be  taken  up  at  a  later  point.  The 
highest  regional  average  is  shown  by  the  South,  with  the  Range 
second,  Pacific  Coast  third,  Middle  West  fourth,  and  the  Colonial 
last.  This  order  is  entirely  explicable,  with  the  exception  of  the 
place  of  the  South. 


Length  of  Grants 

Information  is  available,  for  145  fields,  as  to  the  length  of  time 
that  home  mission  aid  has  been  continuously  received.  The  varia¬ 
tion  is  from  a  fraction  of  a  year  to  more  than  fifty  years.  The 
figures  are  often  suggestive.  Churches  which  have  received  aid 
continuously  for  long  periods  are  usually  of  one  or  the  other  of 

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TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


two  sorts.  Comparatively  few  are  churches  established  and  main¬ 
tained  from  motives  of  unselfish  service  to  needy  and  otherwise 
neglected  communities  where  financial  resources  are  meager  and 
where  the  local  constituency  is  too  small  or  too  poor  to  support 
church  work  on  an  adequate  basis.  Other  churches,  which  have  been 
long  aided — and  these  are  by  far  the  larger  number — are  maintained 
for  denominational  reasons  in  communities  which  do  not  have  any 
other  reason  for  them.  Aid  must  be  granted  for  extended  periods 
because  the  communities  will  not,  as  a  whole,  support  them,  and 
their  own  constituency  remains  too  small  to  do  so.  Those  churches 
which  have  been  aided  for  a  comparatively  few  years  may  be  of 
either  of  these  sorts  or  of  the  kind  that  eventually  develop  into 
self-supporting  churches. 

For  the  whole  number  of  churches,  the  average  period  during 
which  aid  has  been  granted  is  a  little  more  than  eight  years.  About 
one-half  the  number  have  received  aid  for  three  years  or  a  shorter 
time,  but  about  one-seventh  have  received  it  for  twenty  years  or 
more.  The  average  period  by  groups  is  as  follows : 

Group  I  .  5  years 

Group  II  .  15  years 

Group  III  .  16  years 

Group  V  .  7  years 

The  average  of  the  last  group  is  brought  up  by  nine  churches,  four 
Methodist  and  five  Presbyterian,  which  have  been  aided  for  ex¬ 
ceptionally  long  periods.  The  other  eighty-eight  churches  of  this 
group  for  which  information  is  available,  have  an  average  of  less 
than  five  years.  The  high  averages  of  Groups  II  and  III  are  to  be 
expected  and  coincide  with  their  general  policy. 

Local  Financing 

On  the  whole  the  home  mission  churches  do  about  as  well  for 
themselves  financially,  relative  to  their  membership  strength,  as  do 
the  self-supporting  churches  similarly  located.  Home  mission  aid 
does  not  appear  to  be  to  any  considerable  extent  a  substitute  for  local 
effort.  In  no  case  does  the  average  per  capita  giving  for  the  aided 
churches  fall  markedly  below  the  general  county  average,  while  in 
many  counties  and  nationally  it  exceeds  it.  For  all  aided  churches, 
the  average  per  capita  amount  given  for  all  church  purposes  is 
$22.31.  Of  the  total  amount  expended,  48  per  cent,  is  for  min¬ 
isters’  salaries,  18  per  cent,  for  benevolences,  the  remainder  for  mis¬ 
cellaneous  purposes  relating  to  local  support.  Quite  naturally  the 

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HOME  MISSION  AID  AS  A  FACTOR 

benevolence  proportion  is  lower  than  the  average  for  self-supporting 
churches. 

Of  the  total  amount  which  is  paid  for  ministers’  salaries  in  these 
aided  churches,  a  little  more  than  one-third  is  provided  from  mis¬ 
sion  funds.  That  is  to  say,  on  the  average,  for  every  dollar  provided 
by  mission  agencies  the  local  church  provides  two  dollars  for  salaries 
and  a  little  more  than  two  dollars  additional  for  benevolences  and 
other  purposes.  This  is  a  good  record. 

Financial  Methods 

Barely  one-half  of  the  aided  churches  employ  a  budget  system. 
About  the  same  proportion  use  weekly  envelopes  and  an  annual 
every-member  canvass.  In  all  these  particulars  these  churches  are 
below  the  average.  It  is,  however,  in  accord  with  general  observa¬ 
tion  that  home  mission  churches  are  usually  less  thoroughly  or¬ 
ganized  from  the  financial  point  of  view  than  are  the  more  success¬ 
ful  self-supporting  churches.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  they 
continue  to  be  home  mission  churches,  as  may  be  deduced  from  the 
fact  that  of  the  churches  which  have  been  continuously  aided  for 
ten  years  or  more  the  percentage  making  an  every-member  canvass 
is  considerably  lower  than  is  the  per  cent,  for  those  that  have  been 
aided  for  less  than  ten  years.  There  is  a  growing  tendency  with 
home  mission  boards  to  require  the  adoption  of  adequate  financial 
methods  in  churches  to  which  aid  is  granted,  in  order  to  weed  out 
of  the  list  of  the  aid-receiving  churches  those  in  which  long-con¬ 
tinued  subsidies  have  developed  a  mendicant  spirit  and  which  regu¬ 
larly  secure  grants  because  it  is  easier  to  do  so  than  to  put  their 
own  local  finances  on  a  thoroughly  businesslike  basis. 

Church  Membership 

The  average  total  membership  of  all  aided  churches  is  fifty-five, 
and  the  average  resident  active  membership  is  thirty-eight.  The 
active  membership  is  69  per  cent,  of  the  reported  total.  These  aver¬ 
ages  are  below  the  general  membership  averages  for  the  counties 
surveyed  in  which  the  average  total  membership  for  all  churches  is 
ninety-nine,  and  for  all  country  churches,  seventy-five.  There  is  a 
fairly  wide  range  of  variation  in  the  membership  of  these  aided 
churches,  running  all  the  way  from  one  to  259.  Thirty-one  per 
cent,  have  twenty-five  members  or  fewer.  Twenty-four  per  cent, 
have  from  twenty-six  to  fifty  members.  Thirty-two  per  cent,  have 
from  fifty-one  to  100;  9  per  cent,  from  101  to  150;  and  4  per  cent., 

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TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


over  150.  Such  distribution  of  membership  may  be  regarded  as 
quite  typical.  It  is  closely  identical  with  the  averages  for  all  churches 
studied  in  this  investigation  and  with  the  analysis  made  by  several 
boards  of  home  missions. 

Those  who  have  closely  observed  home  mission  work  will  not 
be  surprised  to  note  that,  generally  speaking,  the  aided  churches 
which  face  no  competition  of  any  sort  in  their  fields  have  an  average 
membership  approximately  one-third  less  than  the  average  of  fifty- 
five  of  all  aided  churches.  Where  competition  is  stiffest  membership 
exceeds  the  general  average.  Where  a  church  competes  with  two  or 
more  churches  of  the  same  group,  it  averages  sixty-two.  Those  which 
compete  only  with  churches  of  other  groups  average  fifty-nine. 
Those  without  competition  average  thirty-seven.  In  part  this  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  non-competitive  churches  are  generally  in 
small,  difficult  fields,  whereas  the  multiple  duplication  of  competition 
takes  place  in  towns  or  areas  which  are,  generally  speaking,  more 
sympathetic  to  the  church  and  also  more  populous.  This  variation 
is  further  to  be  correlated  with  certain  other  facts  to  which  refer¬ 
ences  will  shortly  be  made.  Thirty  per  cent,  of  the  aided  churches 
are  single-point  charges,  each  normally  having  the  full  time  of  a 
pastor.  Twenty-seven  per  cent,  are  on  two-point  circuits,  26  per 
cent,  on  three-point  circuits,  7  per  cent,  on  four-point  circuits,  and 
10  per  cent,  on  circuits  of  five  or  more  points.  The  average  for  all 
aided  churches  is  a  little  less  than  two  and  one-half  churches  per 
charge. 

For  the  churches  which  are  without  competition  in  their  com¬ 
munities  the  average  number  of  churches  per  circuit  is  somewhat 
higher,  only  one-fifth  being  single-point  charges  whereas  another 
one-fifth  are  either  four-  or  five-point  circuits.  Of  all  of  those  aided 
churches  which  were  supplied  with  pastors  at  the  time  of  the  survey, 
just  one-half  had  their  pastors  resident  within  the  bounds  of  the 
church  parish,  an  additional  8  per  cent,  having  the  pastor  within  the 
same  community  but  not  resident  within  the  local  church  parish. 
Forty-two  per  cent,  have  non-resident  pastors.  In  most  cases  these 
ministers  live  adjacent  to  some  church  which  they  serve;  but  so 
far  as  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  number  of  churches  are  con¬ 
cerned,  the  minister  is  non-resident.  For  the  196  counties,  the  pro¬ 
portion  with  resident  pastors  is  somewhat  less  than  this.  The  pro¬ 
portion  of  resident  pastors  is  lowest  among  the  churches  which  are 
without  competition.  Of  these,  only  38  per  cent,  have  resident 
pastors.  It  is  not  uncommonly  the  policy  to  put  the  most  resources 
and  the  fullest  services  into  the  competitive  rather  than  into  non- 

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HOME  MISSION  AID  AS  A  FACTOR 


competitive  points.  This  fact  shows  clearly  in  the  generally  poor 
record  of  the  non-competitive  churches. 

Pastoral  Service 

Home  mission  churches  have  even  less  stability  of  pastoral  serv¬ 
ice  than  others.  The  whole  number  have  averaged  approximately 
four  different  pastors  each  during  the  last  ten  years.  Only  6  per 
cent,  have  retained  the  same  pastor  throughout  the  decade.  About 
one-fifth  have  had  two  pastors  each.  Over  one-half  have  had  from 
three  to  five  different  pastors  and  about  one-fifth  have  had  six  dif¬ 
ferent  pastors  or  more.  An  average  pastorate  which  is  not  to  ex¬ 
ceed  two  and  one-half  years  does  not  provide  a  sufficient  continuity 
of  service  to  insure  steady  development  of  a  consistent  program. 
This  rapid  turn-over  of  ministers  defeats  the  very  ends  of  home 
missions. 


Evangelistic  Returns 

The  total  number  of  new  members  received  during  the  year 
preceding  the  survey  was  1,250,  representing  a  gross  gain  of  about 
10  per  cent,  of  the  previous  membership.  Fifty-seven  per  cent,  of 
these  members  were  received  on  confession  of  faith,  43  per  cent,  by 
letter  from  other  churches.  The  gain  on  confession  of  faith  was 
thus  about  6  per  cent,  of  the  previous  membership.  This  is  not  an 
impressive  record.  The  problem  of  a  continuous  high  level  of  serv¬ 
ice,  difficult  enough  in  any  country  church,  is  for  many  reasons  ac¬ 
centuated  in  churches  receiving  home  mission  aid ;  and  such  an  aver¬ 
age  gain  in  membership  as  is  here  shown  is  not  sufficient  to  assure 
steady  growth.  For  contrast,  figures  are  available  for  all  aided 
churches  of  one  major  denomination  for  a  period  of  thirty  years. 
The  average  annual  gain  on  confession  of  faith  for  these  churches 
during  that  period  is  slightly  more  than  11  per  cent. 

As  shown,  the  maintenance  of  most  of  the  211  home  mission 
churches  could  be  justified  only  on  the  assumption  that  theoretically, 
at  least,  they  are  in  the  way  of  a  normal  membership  growth.  They 
cannot  be  justified  on  the  ground  of  services  to  exceptional  popula¬ 
tions  or  isolated  communities.  If  there  is  no  chance  for  them  to 
grow  to  be  strong  congregations,  there  is  little  argument  in  favor 
of  their  continuance.  An  evangelistic  increase  of  at  least  10  per 
cent,  on  the  average  is  generally  necessary  in  most  rural  communities 
to  insure  steady  growth.  A  little  less  than  one-half  of  these  churches 
made  a  net  gain  last  year.  Nearly  one-third  remained  stationary 

H9 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


and  one-fifth  had  a  net  loss.  This  record  is  not  as  good  as  the  gen¬ 
eral  average  in  these  counties. 

Furthermore,  most  of  the  recorded  gain  was  made  by  compara¬ 
tively  few  churches.  More  than  55  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number 
of  aided  churches  had  no  additions  whatever  on  confession  of  faith 
during  the  year  studied.  Of  those  reporting  confessions  of  faith, 
one-fourth  added  only  one  or  two  members  and  another  fourth  only 
from  three  to  five.  Only  one  in  ten  had  more  than  ten  additions  on 
confession  for  the  year.  A  very  considerable  proportion  of  these 
churches  are  of  the  chronically  fruitless  sort  from  an  evangelistic 
point  of  view.  This  fact  would  not  of  itself  condemn  the  expendi¬ 
ture  of  home  mission  money  in  them  where  they  have  sole  respon¬ 
sibility  for  religious  ministry  in  declining  communities  where  growth 
is  impossible.  But  surely  there  is  a  strong  argument  against  the 
artificial  maintenance  of  a  non-productive  church  for  a  long  period 
of  years  where  there  is  an  ample  number  of  other  churches  of  similar 
sorts  within  easy  reach. 

Ten  of  these  churches  were  without  pastors  at  the  time  of  the 
survey.  The  remaining  number,  201,  were  served  by  133  ministers, 
some  of  whom  also  served  self-supporting  churches.  Somewnat  less 
than  one-half  of  these  ministers  serve  single  churches,  the  others 
have  circuits  ranging  from  two  to  six  churches  each.  One-sixth  of 
the  ministers  devote  only  part  of  their  time  to  the  work  of  the  min¬ 
istry,  combining  that  with  some  other  occupation.  For  the  men 
giving  full  time  to  the  ministry  there  is  a  very  considerable  range  in 
salaries  paid.  From  $413  without  parsonage,  it  ranges  to  $2,500 
with  parsonage.  The  free  use  of  a  house  is  provided  in  eighty-seven 
cases.  Estimating  the  average  rental  value  of  a  parsonage  at  $250 
a  year,  and  adding  that  amount  to  the  cash  salary  of  a  minister  for 
whom  a  house  is  provided  in  order  to  obtain  a  basis  for  fair  com¬ 
parison,  the  average  salary  paid  is  $1,318.  That  is  to  say,  the  aver¬ 
age  salary  is  equivalent  to  $1,068  cash  and  the  free  use  of  a  house. 
The  actual  cash  average,  irrespective  of  whether  a  free  parsonage  is 
provided  is  $1,165.  While  such  a  salary  is  obviously  too  little  at 
current  living  costs,  it  compares  favorably  with  the  average  salary 
paid  in  most  of  the  counties  surveyed.  There  is,  therefore,  no  gen¬ 
eral  discrimination  in  salaries  against  these  ministers  because  they 
serve  churches  receiving  home  mission  aid. 

Forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  ministers  keep  automobiles,  6  per 
cent,  have  horses.  Forty-nine  per  cent,  have  neither.  As  to  the 
education  of  ministers,  there  is  nothing  particular  to  differentiate 
this  group  of  ministers  from  those  serving  other  town  and  country 

120 


HOME  MISSION  AID  AS  A  FACTOR 


churches.  About  one-third  of  the  whole  number  are  graduates  both 
of  theological  seminary  and  of  college.  About  another  one-third  are 
graduates  of  either  one  or  the  other  but  not  both ;  and  about  one- 
third  have  had  no  professional  training  except  for  four  men  who 
are  now  college  students. 


Conclusion 

In  passing  final  judgment  on  the  series  of  facts  recorded,  cer¬ 
tain  things  must  be  brought  to  mind.  The  first,  that  no  one  denomi¬ 
nation  or  group  of  denominations  can  be  singled  out  as  sinning  above 
others  in  any  of  these  matters.  There  are  degrees,  of  course,  but 
the  tradition  and  the  system  developed  in  years  when  the  denomi¬ 
national  consciousness  was  relatively  more  keen  and  the  sense  of 
community  responsibility  relatively  less  so,  grip  all  without  ex¬ 
ception.  In  the  second  place,  these  aided  churches  are  subject  to 
the  same  sort  of  disabilities  that  affect  other  town  and  country 
churches.  Small  numbers,  meagerness  of  evangelistic  return,  and 
narrowness  of  program  are  not  alone  the  characteristics  of  aided 
churches,  but  are  the  blight  which  has  affected  so  many  town  and 
country  churches  in  recent  years.  It  might  be  expected  that  home 
mission  churches,  having  behind  them  the  influence  and  impetus  of 
state  or  national  organizations  which  invest  money  in  them,  would 
illustrate  a  higher  efficiency  and  a  higher  ideal  of  services  than  other 
churches.  But  there  is  nothing  in  the  history  of  home  missions 
per  se  to  work  any  such  miracle  in  the  change  of  the  attitude  of  local 
church  forces.  In  the  third  place,  so  far  as  home  mission  organiza¬ 
tions  themselves  are  concerned,  in  passing  judgment  upon  them,  the 
limitations  to  which  attention  was  called  in  the  first  paragraph  of 
this  chapter  must  be  borne  in  mind.  This  phase  of  home  mission 
work  shows  less  of  the  motive  of  unselfish  service  and  more  of  the 
motive  of  denominational  aggrandizement  than  any  other  phase. 
There  are  great  areas  of  missionary  activity  in  which  the  motives 
which  have  here  seemed  to  control  have  a  greatly  diminished  im¬ 
portance.  This  fact  must  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  missionary 
organizations  in  casting  up  the  final  account.  Taking  it  all  in  all, 
however,  the  mildest  judgment  that  can  be  passed  is  that  it  is  un¬ 
fortunate  that  home  mission  agencies  still  so  readily  lend  themselves 
to  the  perpetuation  of  local  religious  divisions  where  not  only  are 
the  broad  community  purposes  not  served,  but  where  the  interest 
of  the  denomination  itself  is  frequently  not  maintained  in  the  build¬ 
ing  up  of  strong,  growing,  effectively  working  organizations. 

121 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Chapter  Summary 

This  discussion  concerns  chiefly  a  single  aspect  of  home  mission 
work,  viz.,  the  subsidizing  of  churches  in  American  villages  or 
country  neighborhoods.  The  data  covers  twenty-five  counties. 

Every  fifth  church  in  these  counties  receives  home  mission  aid. 

Only  thirty-four  out  of  211  aided  churches  are  entirely  free  from 
competition.  As  an  aid  in  measuring  the  effects  of  competition,  this 
discussion  divides  the  churches  into  five  groups,  each  group  repre¬ 
senting,  in  general,  a  common  point  of  view.  It  is  assumed  that 
intra-group  competition  is  less  defensible  than  inter-group  compe¬ 
tition. 

In  effect,  there  is  no  competition  in  about  one-fifth  of  the  cases ; 
there  is  competition  between  churches  of  different  groups  in  one- 
fifth  of  the  cases,  and  competition  with  churches  of  the  same  group 
in  three  cases  out  of  every  five ;  and  in  more  than  half  of  these  cases 
aided  church  competes  with  aided  church. 

Competition  is  more  severe  and  less  defensible  in  the  older  set¬ 
tled  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  less  important  in  the  more  distinctly 
missionary  territory. 

The  use  of  home  mission  money  to  further  competition  is  most 
difficult  to  justify  and  hardest  to  deal  with  in  the  larger  villages 
and  the  towns. 

One  hundred  and  forty-nine  of  the  211  aided  churches  in  these 
counties  could  be  dispensed  with  without  essential  loss. 

The  average  subsidy  granted  an  aided  church  is  $216  a  year. 
By  denominations  the  average  ranges  up  to  $470  a  church. 

The  average  period  during  which  aid  has  been  given  the  indi¬ 
vidual  church  is  eight  years.  Half  the  churches,  however,  have 
been  aided  for  three  years  or  less,  one-seventh  for  twenty  years  or 
more. 

In  general  the  aided  churches  raise  as  much  money  per  capita  as 
the  self-supporting  churches. 

In  general,  the  aided  churches  that  face  the  stiffest  competition 
are  most  energetically  promoted  and  have  the  most  pastoral  over¬ 
sight.  Non-competitive  fields  are  apt  to  be  comparatively  neglected. 

A  considerable  proportion  of  the  aided  churches  are  of  the 
chronically  non-productive  sort. 

The  average  salary  of  pastors  in  churches  receiving  home  mis¬ 
sion  aid  is  about  the  average  for  all  town  and  country  ministers. 


122 


CHAPTER  VII 


Religious  Education  in  the  Rural  Church  School 

RELIGIOUS  education  is  the  corner-stone  upon  which  must 
be  built  the  Church  of  the  future.  Through  religious  edu¬ 
cation,  the  ever-rising  generation  is  reached  and  helped  to 
lay  the  foundations  of  its  religious  life. 

Nevertheless  the  teaching  function  of  the  Church,  in  town  and 
country  at  least,  is  too  largely  neglected.  The  Federal  Religious 
Census  indicates  that  one  out  of  every  four  churches  is  without  any 
Sunday  school.  In  the  counties  studied,  the  proportion  was  slightly 
better,  being  one  out  of  every  five.1  Yet  the  Sunday  school  is  the 
most  fundamental  and  far-reaching  development  in  religious  educa¬ 
tion.  For  about  two  centuries  it  has  commended  itself  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian  judgment  of  the  world;  and  in  America  great  interdenomina¬ 
tional  and  denominational  agencies  for  its  promotion  attest  the  fact. 
That  one  out  of  every  five  churches  should  lack  even  the  semblance 
of  a  Sunday  school  is  a  sobering  circumstance,  especially  when  it 
is  noted  that  less  than  one-quarter  of  those  without  such  schools  be¬ 
long  to  denominations  opposed  to  having  them. 

It  means  that  many  rural  boys  and  girls  are  being  deprived  of  a 
most  important  preparation  for  Christian  life.  This  neglect  is  na¬ 
tion-wide  ;  but  it  is  more  evident  in  the  South  than  in  any  other 
region.  The  irrigated  sections  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  the  pros¬ 
perous  Middle  West  lead  in  Sunday  school  organization.  In  these 
fortunate  regions,  nineteen  out  of  every  twenty  churches  have  such 
work.  The  Colonial  states  and  those  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  come 
next,  and  approach  the  average.  Where  the  lack  described  does 
obtain,  every  effort  should  be  made  by  existing  schools  to  reach  the 
entire  community,  and  especially  the  children  and  adolescents.  There 
ought  to  be  interdenominational  agreements  to  bring  this  about. 

1  The  figures  in  this  chapter  are  drawn  not  only  from  the  twenty-five 
counties  which  have  formed  the  basis  of  practically  the  entire  study,  but 
from  forty-three  additional  counties  which  were  tabulated  at  the  close  of  the 
Interchurch  World  Movement  work  for  a  denominational  board  of  religious 
education.  Except  where  stated,  therefore,  the  figures  in  this  chapter  cover 
nearly  2,500  schools  in  sixty-eight  counties,  located  in  forty-three  states ; 
which  counties  have  a  total  population  of  1,138,827.  The  figures  from  this 
smaller  sample  of  counties  do  not  quite  agree  with  those  in  Chapter  III,  in 
which  national  deductions  were  drawn  on  the  basis  of  179  counties. 

123 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


“The  Three  Types” 

There  are  three  types  of  Sunday  schools.  The  first  is  the  usual 
variety  organized  and  directed  under  the  auspices  of  the  church.  The 
second  type  is  a  mission  Sunday  school  organized  in  some  locality 
where  there  is  no  church,  but  under  the  care  of  a  neighboring  con¬ 
gregation,  and,  therefore,  to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  under  the  su¬ 
pervision  of  the  minister.  The  third  type  is  the  union  Sunday 
school  unattached  to  any  church.  This  interesting  type  is  usually 
found  in  isolated  places  or  in  neglected  neighborhoods;  and  it  was 
largely  prevalent  from  necessity  in  the  early  pioneer  days  of  the 
West.  It  is  also  to  be  met  with  in  populous  rural  neighborhoods 
near  larger  cities.  The  city  churches  have  failed  to  extend  their 
parishes,  though  often  they  have  killed  the  country  churches.  Par¬ 
ents  of  the  children  are  not  willing  to  send  them  any  great  distance 
to  the  Sunday  school.  The  absence  of  churches,  even  in  populous 
areas,  accounts  for  the  union  schools.  Where  there  are  enough 
people  bound  by  some  neighborhood  tie,  such  a  school  is  likely 
to  be  organized,  even  though  in  a  populous  area.  This  par¬ 
ticular  kind  of  unattached  school  is,  however,  distinctly  in  the 
minority. 

The  mission  schools  and  the  detached  schools  together  form  12 
per  cent,  of  the  total  number.  There  are,  however,  three  times  as 
many  detached  schools  as  there  are  mission  schools.  These  unat¬ 
tached  schools  have  been  promoted  occasionally  by  local  initiative ; 
but  generally  through  missionary  endeavor,  either  on  the  part  of 
representatives  of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union  or,  as  is 
more  often  the  case,  by  denominational  Sunday  school  missionaries. 
In  this  way  denominations  have  sought  to  extend  their  ministry 
into  new  communities  or  inaccessible  places  and  have  attempted  to 
drive  an  entering  wedge  into  localities  otherwise  untouched  by  the 
forces  of  religion. 

Such  a  plan  obtained,  and  is  defensible  in  a  new  country  under 
frontier  conditions ;  and  the  missionaries  in  charge  of  this  work  are 
among  the  most  heroic  who  labor  for  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom 
in  America.  It  is,  however,  inadequate  where  a  community  has 
settled  down  definitely  to  its  agricultural  life.  Under  such  condi¬ 
tions  the  separate  Sunday  school  becomes  an  obstacle  to  further 
religious  progress. 

Instead  of  being  the  spur  to  ambition,  it  becomes  a  check.  Of 
necessity,  people  accept  the  benefits ;  but  they  do  not  manifest  enough 
enterprise  for  future  development  or  for  unforeseen  contingencies. 

124 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  RURAL  CHURCH  SCHOOL 


The  Sunday  school  missionary  cannot  visit  a  school  more  often  than 
five  or  six  times  a  year.  His  work  is  unrelated  to  that  of  the  churches, 
even  of  his  own  denomination,  within  the  very  counties  in  which 
he  operates.  Where  work  grows  sufficiently  to  warrant  it,  the  mis¬ 
sionary  is  supposed  to,  and  often  does,  organize  a  congregation.  But 
too  frequently  he  must  spread  his  efforts  thinly  over  such  an  amount 
of  territory  that  it  becomes  impossible  to  bring  a  community  to  the 
point  of  organizing  a  church.2  The  alternative  is,  when  the  proper 
time  comes,  for  the  pastor  of  the  nearest  church  or  the  denomina¬ 
tional  missionary  agency  to  devote  enough  time  to  help  the  people 
to  expand  their  organization  into  a  full-grown  church. 

These  unattached  Sunday  schools  are  seldom  as  large  as  the 
church  schools,  and  this  is  but  natural.  Those  connected  with  preach¬ 
ing  points  have  an  average  enrollment  of  forty-three ;  those  which 
are  entirely  separate  average  forty,  or  half  the  average  enrollment 
of  the  church  Sunday  schools,  which  is  eighty.  In  the  average  en¬ 
rollment  of  church  Sunday  schools,  with  which  the  discussion  will 
hereafter  deal,  the  Pacific  Coast  again  leads  with  103,  and  again 
the  Middle  West  is  second  with  eighty-three.  The  other  sections 
number  approximately  seventy-eight ;  and  again  the  South  is  last, 
with  seventy-five.  Small  as  these  enrollments  may  seem,  they  are 
not  only  considerable  in  the  aggregate  but  they  are  encouraging  in 
themselves.  When  it  is  remembered  that  half  the  town  and  country 
churches  in  America  have  fewer  than  fifty  active  members  each,  it 
will  be  apparent  that  although  a  third  of  these  churches  have  no 
church  schools,  the  figures  still  indicate  the  strength  of  the  Sunday 
school  and  prove  how  valuable  an  adjunct  it  can  become  in  church 
work. 


In  Town  and  Country 

It  is  the  membership  in  the  town  schools,  of  course,  which  brings 
up  the  general  average ;  but  of  the  total  number  only  7  per  cent,  are 
located  in  towns.  Two-fifths  are  in  villages,  and  more  than  half 
are  located  in  the  country.  The  7  per  cent,  of  schools  located  in 
the  towns  have  15  per  cent,  of  the  total  church-school  enrollment. 
Forty-six  per  cent,  of  the  enrollment  is  credited  to  the  village 
schools,  and  39  per  cent,  to  those  in  the  country.  The  average  en- 

2  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  work  of  Sunday  school  missionaries  under 
favorable  and  unfavorable  conditions,  and  a  suggested  method  of  meeting  the 
difficulty  here  studied,  the  reader  is  referred  to  “A  Church  and  Community 
Survey  of  Pend  Oreille  County,  Washington,”  pp.  42,  43,  47-51 ;  and  ‘‘Irriga¬ 
tion  and  Religion,”  pp.  80,  104-108. 


125 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


rollment  for  town,  village  and  country  church  schools  is  148,  95, 
and  58  respectively. 

While  town  schools  are  always  largest,  with  the  village  next 
and  the  country  smallest,  there  seems  to  be  no  similar  trend  in  the 
figures  for  attendance.  Despite  the  handicaps  of  distance  and  some¬ 
times  of  poor  roads  in  bad  weather,  there  are  many  counties  in  which 
the  country  Sunday  schools  show  a  higher  proportion  of  attendance 
at  any  given  session  than  the  town  schools.  For  all  counties  the 
towns  lead  only  because  of  the  excellent  record  of  a  few  counties. 
There  are  two  reasons  for  this :  first,  the  country  church  school’s 
session  is  one  of  the  few  breaks  in  the  life  of  the  country  child;  sec¬ 
ondly,  it  is  not  unusual  for  whole  families  to  attend,  and  to  wait 
for  the  church  services  which  follow. 

In  many  rural  areas  the  Sunday  school  is,  on  two  or  three  Sun¬ 
days  a  month,  the  only  religious  service.  Where  the  town  churches 
do  lead  in  attendance  it  is  often  because  of  the  excellence  of  their 
work  rather  than  because  of  the  proximity  of  their  scholars.  It  is 
not  possible  to  determine  precisely  the  contributory  features  that 
lead  to  a  high  attendance  in  successful  schools.  It  is  found,  how¬ 
ever,  that  where  there  is  a  good  equipment  there  is  also  apt  to  be 
not  only  a  good  program  but  trained  teachers.  Wherever  any  two 
of  these  factors  are  found,  and  certainly  where  all  three  are  present, 
the  attendance  seems  to  increase  rapidly  in  proportion  to  the  total 
enrollment.  For  the  total  group  of  schools,  the  average  attendance 
of  those  in  the  town  is  70  per  cent,  of  the  enrollment.  For  the  vil¬ 
lage  schools  it  is  63  per  cent,  of  the  enrollment ;  and  for  those  in 
the  country  66  per  cent.  For  all  counties  and  all  types  of  schools 
the  ratio  of  attendance  to  enrollment  is  64  per  cent. 

The  Church  and  Its  School 

Of  late  years  the  ideal  has  been  set  for  the  Sunday  school  to 
equal  the  church  in  its  membership,  excluding  of  course  home  and 
cradle  roll  departments.  With  the  ever-increasing  and  proper  em¬ 
phasis  upon  Sunday  school  classes  for  adults,  this  is  no  impossible 
goal.  Anything  far  short  of  it  raises  the  suspicion  that  the  Church 
is  not  seriously  working  at  the  task  of  religious  education.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  for  any  length  of  time  the  enrollment  of  the  Sunday 
school  should  exceed  that  of  the  church  it  would  seem  to  show  that, 
except  in  new  and  rapidly  growing  communities,  the  church  is 
neglecting  its  task  of  evangelism.  The  Sunday  school  often  estab¬ 
lishes  the  first  contact  between  the  church  and  the  newcomer.  Per- 

1 26 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  RURAL  CHURCH  SCHOOL 


haps  this  newcomer  may  prove  to  be  a  tenant,  or  a  New  American. 

In  the  counties  studied,  the  enrollment  of  the  Sunday  school 
equals  84  per  cent,  of  the  church  membership.  In  the  Middle  West  it 
is  only  63  per  cent.  It  is,  however,  reduced  by  the  counties  having 
a  predominance  of  the  older  immigration  with  its  foreign-language 
churches  and  its  stress  upon  religious  education  only  for  the  very 
young.  In  the  South  the  ratio  is  77  per  cent.  On  the  Range  and 
the  Pacific  Coast  enrollment  in  Sunday  schools  outstrips  church 
membership  by  7  and  20  per  cent,  respectively;  a  situation  that 
creates  an  opportunity  and  a  challenge  for  the  Church. 

In  equipment,  both  physical  and  pedagogical,  the  rural  Sunday 
schools  are  woefully  lacking,  in  the  light  of  modern  standards  of 
religious  education.  Three  out  of  every  four  meet  in  either  one  or 
two  rooms.  Where  there  is  a  second  room  it  is  set  aside  almost  ex¬ 
clusively  for  the  primary  department,  which  is  as  it  should  be. 
Apart  from  this,  the  Sunday  school,  like  the  old-fashioned  little  red 
schoolhouse,  has  all  its  classes  in  one  room.  The  Sunday  school 
has,  however,  an  advantage  over  the  public  school  in  that  usually  no 
two  classes  have  the  same  teacher ;  it  is  at  a  disadvantage  in  that 
it  reaches  its  average  pupil  for  a  maximum  of  only  fifty-two  hours 
a  year,  provided  it  is  a  school  that  is  open  all  the  year.  Too  many 
of  the  Sunday  schools  hibernate  during  certain  seasons  because  of 
impassable  roads.  Only  80  per  cent,  are  on  the  job  every  Sunday 
out  of  the  fifty-two. 

Even  when  a  school  has  more  than  two  rooms,  modern  equipment 
is  notably  absent,  and  the  contrast  between  week-day  and  Sunday 
instruction  is  of  the  sort  that  would  impress  the  pupil  with  the  idea 
that  the  latter  is  of  little  relative  importance.  Sand  tables,  stereopti- 
cons,  maps,  attractive  interior  decorations,  proper  pictures  hung  at 
proper  heights,  all  these  things  and  many  other  undisputed  funda¬ 
mentals  of  modern  educational  work  are  rarely  found. 

“They  That  Be  Teachers  Shall  Shine” 

This  handicap  is  imposed  partly  because  the  teachers  are  volun¬ 
teers,  with  no  appreciation  or  knowledge  of  these  things,  chosen  be¬ 
cause  of  their  willingness  rather  than  because  of  their  ability.  The 
assets  of  the  average  Sunday  school  teacher  are  a  certain  amount  of 
loyalty,  piety,  consecration  and  a  lesson  quarterly.3  Less  than  one 
school  in  eleven  has  a  teacher-training  class  of  even  the  most  ele- 

3  See  Athearn,  “The  Indiana  Survey  of  Religious  Education,”  Vols,  I 
and  II. 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


mentary  character.  Religious  education  cannot  be  put  upon  a  proper 
footing  on  this  basis.  It  is  classed  as  a  thing  distinctly  inferior,  even 
in  the  mind  of  the  boy  or  girl  pupil,  when  compared  with  the  train¬ 
ing  offered  by  the  week-day  school.  Moreover,  this  type  of  teach¬ 
ing  effectually  prevents  any  considerable  extension  of  the  hopeful 
movement  to  give  high-school  credit  for  Bible  study. 

From  every  point  of  view  it  is  necessary  to  improve  the  prepara¬ 
tion  and  the  pedagogical  standards  of  the  teaching  force  of  our 
Sunday  schools,  even  though  the  teachers  are  volunteers.  Nor  is  this 
impossible.  A  few  churches  have  proved  that  the  problem  is  worth 
solving.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  region  which  makes  the 
best  showing  in  this  regard  is  the  Pacific  Coast.  Closely  following  is 
the  Rocky  Mountain  area.  In  this  latter  area,  where  conditions 
are  hardest  and  needs  are  greatest,  the  Sunday  schools  are  improving 
in  their  personnel.  In  some  counties  in  other  regions  there  is  not 
a  single  teacher-training  class ;  and  in  some  states  there  is  an  aver¬ 
age  of  but  one  for  every  twenty  schools. 

About  one  church  out  of  three  has  ventured  along  new  lines, 
such  as  better  equipment,  trained  teachers,  and  graded  curriculum; 
and  it  is  significant  that  in  the  last  five  years  this  policy  is  produc¬ 
ing  the  larger  proportion  of  recruits  trained  to  enter  upon  a  pro¬ 
fessional  Christian  career.4  This  group  averages  more  than  twice 
as  many  per  school  as  the  other.  In  all,  the  958  church  schools  in 
these  counties  have  sent  295  persons  into  professional  Christian  serv¬ 
ice  in  the  last  decade;  but  all  those  295  persons  were  from  only  173 
of  the  schools.  In  the  course  of  the  last  decade,  785  schools  have 
sent  no  recruits  into  professional  service.  It  is  reasonable  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  if  the  pupils  in  the  poorer  schools  could  have  more  advan¬ 
tages  they  would  show  as  keen  an  interest  and  as  creditable  a  re¬ 
sponse  as  the  pupils  in  the  better-managed  schools. 

An  encouraging  feature  in  the  situation  is  that  there  has  been 
a  marked  increase  in  the  number  of  people  who  have  entered  the 
various  branches  of  developed  Christian  service.  In  the  first  half 
of  the  decade  the  number  was  only  ninety.  In  the  last  five  years 
205  have  entered.  This  increase  has  been  shared  in  by  every  region 
except  the  Midwest  where  the  rate  has  remained  stationary.  The 
causes  for  this  increase  cannot  be  determined  by  this  survey.  Credit 
is  given  by  some  to  the  denominational  campaigns,  and  particularly  to 
the  Interchurch  World  Movement.  Others  feel  that  the  spiritual 
after-results  of  the  war  are  partly  responsible. 

There  are  interesting  variations  between  the  regions  in  the  num- 

4  On  this  point  the  figures  cover  only  the  twenty-five  counties. 

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RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  RURAL  CHURCH  SCHOOL 


ber  of  recruits  which  have  been  sent  into  the  active  service.  The 
Pacific  Coast  averages  one  recruit  for  every  1.25  schools;  the  Middle 
West  one  for  every  2.18.  The  other  regions  are  in  the  neighborhood 
of  one  for  every  four  schools,  with  the  exception  of  the  South  which 
has  a  record  of  one  recruit  for  every  eleven  schools.  On  the  basis 
of  present  enrollment  the  figures  are  very  much  the  same.  The  Pa¬ 
cific  Coast  and  middle  western  states  have  produced  one  professional 
Christian  worker  for  every  200  of  their  present  Sunday  school  mem¬ 
bership.  The  South  averages  one  to  every  1,150;  while  the  remain¬ 
ing  regions  range  between  one  for  every  286  and  one  for  every  291. 
Of  the  295  Christian  workers  who  have  gone  from  these  schools  in 
the  last  decade,  141  have  been  from  village  schools.  The  open  coun¬ 
try  has  furnished  113  and  the  town  forty-one. 

“Train  Up  a  Child  in  the  Way  He  Should  Go” 

As  to  curricula,  most  schools  are  ungraded  save  roughly  as  to 
age.  The  same  lesson  is  taught  in  all  grades.  Only  30  per  cent,  of 
schools  use  graded  lessons,  and  many  of  these  confine  their  use  to 
the  beginners,  to  primary  and  perhaps  to  junior  grades.  With  the 
departmental  system  grading  is  possible  in  all  but  the  smallest  schools. 

Sunday  school  curriculum  has  a  definite  influence  and  justifies 
the  use  of  graded  instruction  as  far  as  it  is  possible.  For  instance, 
30  per  cent,  of  the  schools  studied  have  regular  missionary  instruc¬ 
tion  at  least  once  a  month,  and  many  of  them  oftener.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  the  churches  in  which  missions  play  a  part  in  the  Sunday 
school  curriculum  give  per  capita  30  per  cent,  more  to  missions  than 
those  churches  in  which  there  is  no  mission  study.  There  are,  of 
course,  exceptions  ;  but,  pursuing  the  analysis  down  to  a  county  basis, 
it  is  found  that  a  majority  of  the  counties  return  a  similar  result.5 

One  reason  for  the  general  weakness  in  many  of  these  schools 
is  that  the  minister,  who  is  supposed  to  be  the  trained  leader  of  the 
congregation  and  its  organization,  is  seldom  able  to  devote  much 
time  to  the  Sunday  school.  Unless  there  can  be  paid  directors  of 
religious  education — and  some  country  churches  have  such  work¬ 
ers — the  results  are  uncertain.  More  than  one-third  of  the  rural 
pastors  do  nothing  in  or  with  their  Sunday  schools,  usually  because 
they  cannot  reach  them  regularly  on  account  of  the  many  appoint¬ 
ments  on  the  circuit.  It  is  a  situation  with  significance  for  the  coun¬ 
try.  Barely  half  of  the  ministers  of  country  churches  are  able  to 
attend  their  Sunday  schools.  More  than  a  quarter  of  those  who 

5  From  this  point  the  data  covers  only  the  twenty-five  counties. 

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TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


serve  village  churches  are  similarly  handicapped.  There  are  604 
of  the  church  Sunday  schools,  or  barely  60  per  cent.,  which  have 
their  minister  regularly  with  them.  In  forty-eight  he  acts  as  super¬ 
intendent;  and  in  less  than  a  third  of  these  he  also  teaches.  In 
two-thirds  of  the  total  number  of  these  schools,  the  minister  takes 
his  place  as  a  regular  teacher.  In  seventy-six  he  confines  himself 
to  reviewing  the  lesson.  In  sixty-six  schools,  the  minister  is  present 
as  an  attendant  or  substitute  teacher  when  occasion  requires. 

The  effect  of  ministerial  residence  on  the  program  of  the  church 
Sunday  school  is  striking.  Forty-five  per  cent,  of  such  schools  are 
attached  to  congregations  which  have  either  the  full  or  the  part  time 
of  a  resident  minister.  This  45  per  cent,  have  more  than  twice  as 
many  classes  to  prepare  for  church  membership ;  three  times  as  many 
life-work  recruits ;  three  times  as  many  teacher-training  classes,  and 
one-third  again  as  much  missionary  education  as  the  55  per  cent, 
which  have  non-resident  ministers.  The  pity  of  it  is  that  so  many 
of  the  schools  are  not  fully  utilizing  the  potential  leadership  of  their 
resident  ministers.  For  instance,  only  30  per  cent,  of  the  churches 
with  resident  ministers  have  classes  to  prepare  for  church  member¬ 
ship  ;  only  one-third  have  missionary  education ;  and  only  one  out 
of  every  four  has  ever  furnished  a  life-work  recruit.  The  striking 
difference  between  the  churches  with  resident  pastors  and  those 
without,  makes  all  the  more  startling  the  failure  of  the  majority  of 
the  more  fortunate  congregations  either  to  utilize  their  leadership  or 
to  respond  to  it. 

“We  Are  Every  One  Members,  One  of  Another” 

Another  test  of  educational  efficiency  lies  in  that  departure  of  the 
Church  along  the  line  of  more  intensive,  graded  instruction  for  a 
special  age-group,  namely  the  class  to  prepare  for  church  member¬ 
ship,  called  by  different  names  in  different  denominations.  Eighteen 
and  one-half  per  cent,  of  the  churches  have  such  classes;  81.5  per 
cent,  do  not  have  them.  The  churches  with  this  important  feature 
of  religious  education  registered  an  average  net  gain  per  year  of 
11.8  members  and  those  without  any  class  of  the  kind  reported  a 
net  gain  of  2.8  members.  Varying  in  degree,  this  record  held  for 
every  region  and  for  every  county  with  the  exception  of  one.  In 
other  words,  out  of  every  200  churches  the  thirty-nine  with  classes 
to  prepare  for  church  membership  registered  a  larger  net  gain  per 
year  than  the  161  churches  without  such  classes.  On  the  basis  of 
membership,  the  result  is  the  same.  Churches  with  classes  for  age- 

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RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  RURAL  CHURCH  SCHOOL 


groups  are  just  20  per  cent,  larger  than  those  without;  but  they 
add  four  times  as  many  members. 

Religion  may  be  a  matter  of  faith  and  emotional  experience ;  but 
though  it  may  perhaps  be  caught  like  smallpox  by  exposure,  it  can¬ 
not  be  sustained  by  anything  but  a  solid  foundation  for  the  faith 
that  is  within  the  convert.  The  failure  to  supply  such  a  foundation 
is  one  of  the  great  weaknesses  of  religious  education.  Classes  in 
preparation  for  church  membership  give  the  necessary  grounding. 
Their  value  is  indisputable.  The  recommendation  and  the  moral  of 
these  figures  is  clear. 

The  appeal  of  the  Sunday  school  to  the  purely  farm  population  is 
of  interest.  In  every  region  except  the  South  the  proportion  of 
church  school  enrollment  from  farm  homes  is  less  than  the  propor¬ 
tion  of  people  on  farm  homes  in  the  total  population.  The  difference 
varies  from  1  per  cent,  in  the  Pacific  States  to  13.5  in  the  Colonial. 
Adding  the  farm  membership  of  the  separate  schools,  it  appears 
that,  except  in  the  Colonial  area,  the  farm  home  supports  religious 
education  slightly  better  than  do  the  other  elements  in  the  rural 
population.  Nor  is  this  surprising.  The  Sunday  school  is  the  lay¬ 
man’s  church.  The  minister  is  too  frequently  not  present  and  of 
•necessity  the  farmer  responds  and  develops  leadership. 

It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  situation  in  the  Colonial  area, 
where  the  farmer’s  family  is  in  a  decided  minority.  Distance  be¬ 
tween  the  home  and  the  Sunday  school  is  undoubtedly  a  factor  in 
sparsely  settled  areas.  Elsewhere  poor  roads  and  bad  weather  are 
often  the  reasons  advanced.  Antagonism  between  the  trade  centers 
and  the  country  appears  here  and  there.  The  exact  situation  in  this 
connection,  as  it  affects  religious  education,  is  discussed  in  Chapter 
IV.  Regardless  of  the  conditions,  church  Sunday  schools  should  by 
all  means  determine  whether  they  are  reaching  the  farm  children. 
District  or  county  Sunday  school  associations  should,  whenever 
possible,  work  at  the  task  of  securing  the  facts  on  this  point. 

The  importance  of  the  question  becomes  the  more  apparent  when 
it  is  remembered  that,  while  the  urban  population  in  the  United 
States  now  exceeds  the  rural,  something  it  has  not  done  before  in 
our  history,  the  census  also  shows  that  there  are  two  and  a  half 
million  more  children  in  our  villages  and  country  districts  than  in 
the  towns  and  cities.  The  greater  part  of  the  rising  generation  will 
receive  its  religious  training  in  the  country;  and  if  we  may  judge  by 
the  past  this  means  that  a  majority  of  our  future  leaders  will  be 
country-trained.  Will  it  be  the  training  that  will  fit  them  to  lead? 


131 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Standards  and  Ambitions 

One  thing  is  evident.  With  all  the  splendid  progress  that  is  be¬ 
ing  made  in  religious  education  in  curriculum,  in  training  of  teach¬ 
ers  and  in  types  of  building,  the  real  problem  of  the  small  school 
with  one  or  two  rooms  is  largely  untouched.  It  is  easy  to  condemn 
this  type  of  school,  and  it  is  right  to  do  so.  The  average  church  is 
too  easily  satisfied  with  its  own  standards  and  ambitions.  To  main¬ 
tain  such  a  Sunday  school  would  seem  to  be  a  mere  gesture — a 
matter  of  ecclesiastical  fashion  as  a  church  bell  may  be,  or  an  organ. 
Judged  by  any  scientific  standard,  it  is  obsolete.  But  three  out  of 
every  five  schools  are  of  this  unambitious  type.  Half  a  dozen  or 
so  classes  share  the  church  auditorium ;  and  it  becomes  a  modern 
Babel,  with  the  teachers  competing  for  the  attention  of  their  classes 
each  one  of  which  is  distracted  by  the  noise  of  its  neighbor.  The 
enrollment  and  resources  of  such  schools  are  small ;  yet  it  is  with 
these  schools  that  reform  must  begin.  The  plans  and  programs  thus 
far  announced  by  leaders  in  the  field  of  religious  education  have 
no  stirring  message  to  these  Sunday  schools. 

A  final  observation  is  justified.  The  church  Sunday  school  should 
extend  the  scope  of  its  work  and  influence.  In  these  sixty-eight 
counties  only  14  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  is  affiliated  with 
Sunday  schools  of  any  type.  At  the  best,  the  basic  survey  of  these 
twenty-five  counties  nets  only  18  per  cent.,  but  even  this  figure  is 
lower  than  the  proportion  of  church  membership  to  population.  Yet 
two  of  these  counties,  in  states  as  widely  separated  as  Washington 
and  Pennsylvania,  enroll  almost  30  per  cent,  of  their  population  in 
their  church  schools.  In  both  instances  Sunday  school  membership 
exceeds  church  membership.  In  near-by  counties,  in  which  similar 
general  conditions  prevail,  the  records  are  as  low  as  6,  8,  and  11 
per  cent.  Obviously  the  development  and  the  effort  have  been  un¬ 
equal.  One-quarter  of  the  schools  under  consideration  report  that 
they  make  efforts  to  increase  membership  and  attendance,  but  al¬ 
most  exclusively  these  efforts  are  confined  to  contests  and  rewards. 

If  religious  education  has  to  stoop  to  such  meretricious  methods 
to  bribe  and  tease  its  constituency  into  investing  thirty-four  out  of 
a  possible  fifty-two  hours  a  year  in  its  activities,  then  religious  edu¬ 
cation  is  in  a  bad  way.  Does  not  the  solution  rather  lie  in  the  or¬ 
ganizing  of  personnel,  curriculum  and  program  to  such  a  point  that 
they  will  compel  attention?  This  organization  was  achieved  in  Co¬ 
lumbia  County,  Pa.,  which  offers  the  best  record  of  the  counties 
in  the  proportion  of  its  population  enrolled  in  church  Sunday  schools, 

132 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  RURAL  CHURCH  SCHOOL 


but  which  still  leaves  much  to  be  desired.  There  are  communities 
in  this  Pennsylvania  county  in  which  from  three-fourths  to  nine- 
tenths  of  the  population  are  interested  in  the  Sunday  school,  includ¬ 
ing  of  course  the  Cradle  Roll  and  Home  Departments.  Such  a  tri¬ 
umph  in  the  country  should  give  widespread  encouragement. 

The  secret  of  success  lies  in  this  instance  in  the  hearty  applica¬ 
tion  of  modern  ideas  and  methods.  This  Pennsylvania  county  excels 
in  trained  teachers.  It  leads  all  others  in  organized  classes.  Most 
of  these  classes  have  some  form  of  social  program.  The  County 
Sunday  School  Association  is  an  ambitious  organization ;  it  has  em¬ 
ployed  a  secretary,  and  its  program  includes  close  and  active  coop¬ 
eration  with  the  County  Farm  Bureau  and  the  county  schools.6  The 
record  in  the  far  western  county  was  made  chiefly  because  the  Sun¬ 
day  schools,  though  new  and  in  many  cases  feeble,  furnished  the  one 
constructive  agency  in  the  community  reaching  all  age-  and  sex- 
groups.  They  are  under  the  supervision  of  a  denominational  Sun¬ 
day  school  missionary  who  devoted  almost  all  his  time  to  this  one 
county,  and  who  was  able  to  organize  a  constructive  plan  and  to 
concentrate  his  energies  upon  its  fulfilment  and  functioning.  This 
result  was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  no  other  charges  such  as  a 
presbytery  or  district  which  might  include  from  eight  to  a  dozen 
counties. 

The  various  steps  in  this  campaign  for  the  Sunday  school  and 
religious  education  remain  for  experts  to  detail.  The  studies  that 
have  been  undertaken  reveal  certain  outstanding  needs. 

First:  the  facts  should  be  broadcast  until  they  reach  administra¬ 
tive  officers  and  those  concerned  with  the  direction  and  inspiration  of 
our  small  country  schools. 

Second :  Sunday  school  missionaries  should  be  so  distributed  that 
their  territories  do  not  overlap,  and  their  energies  should  be  de¬ 
voted  to  intensive  rather  than  to  extensive  work.  The  Sunday 
schools  in  the  centers,  each  with  a  group  of  trained  leaders  or  teach¬ 
ers,  should  be  responsible  for  outlying  communities  that  are  not  ade¬ 
quately  served  by  the  forces  of  religion. 

Third:  there  is  the  greatest  need  for  more  modern  equipment 
comparable  to  that  used  in  the  day  schools. 

Fourth :  the  training  of  teachers  must  be  greatly  extended.  Where 
possible  a  leadership  and  teacher-training  school  should  be  main¬ 
tained  to  instruct  officers,  teachers,  and  workers  in  the  principles 
of  religious  education  as  applied  to  their  own  community.  Such 
work  should  be  under  the  auspices  of  a  Community  Committee  on 

6  See  “The  Country  Church  in  Industrial  Zones/'  pp.  74-75. 

133 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Protestant  Religious  Education  which  would  soon  find  many  addi¬ 
tional  fields  for  its  activities. 

Fifth:  the  curriculum  of  the  church  Sunday  school  should  be 
restudied,  adapted  to  more  intensive  work,  and  graded,  as  is  pos¬ 
sible  now  for  even  the  smaller  schools.  The  curriculum  should  in¬ 
clude  the  regular  missionary  instruction  and,  at  the  proper  time,  a 
membership-training  class. 

Sixth:  the  hour-a-week  program  must  eventually  give  way  to 
week-day  religious  instruction.  Plans  under  which  such  instruction 
is  at  present  given  should  be  studied  with  the  peculiar  and  special 
needs  of  the  local  church  and  community  in  mind. 

Seventh :  this  form  of  administration  should  be  carried,  adopted 
and  used  by  all  strong  community-serving  churches.  They  should 
employ,  in  addition  to  the  pastor,  one  person  on  full  time  as  the  re¬ 
ligious-education  worker ;  and,  if  possible,  at  least  two  other  teach¬ 
ers  should  be  employed  on  part  time.  The  person  on  full  time  should 
have  charge  of  the  Sunday  school,  carry  on  the  Daily  Vacation  Bible 
School,  have  charge  of  week-day  religious  education  throughout  the 
year,  lead  the  community  class  for  leadership-training  and  in  gen¬ 
eral  become  responsible  for  bringing  the  Church  and  its  functions 
closer  to  its  adolescent  members. 

Eighth:  Daily  Vacation  Bible  Schools  should  be  promoted  on 
a  community-wide  basis,  especially  for  children  under  twelve  years 
of  age. 

Ninth :  community-serving  churches  responsible  for  large  areas 
should  regularly  transport  to  and  from  the  church  their  pupils  who 
enter  classes  for  religious  instruction,  in  order  to  secure  regularity 
of  attendance  in  the  Sunday  school,  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School, 
week-day  religious  instruction,  communicant  classes  and  schools  of 
missions.7 

Tenth:  individual  schools  and,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  religious 
educational  forces  in  each  community  should  extend  the  scope  of 
religious  instruction  until  it  includes  an  appreciable  portion  of  the 
adult  population  as  well  as  virtually  the  entire  population  of  school 
age. 

Eleventh :  leaders  in  the  realm  of  religious  education  should  de¬ 
vote  a  large  share  of  their  thinking  and  planning  to  the  small  church 
school  whose  needs  are  largely  overlooked  by  present  theories.  It 
may  be  said  that  a  study  of  this  subject  should  show  whether  these 

7  Proposals  8,  9,  and  10  have  been  submitted  to  scores  of  rural  leaders  by 
Dr.  Warren  H.  Wilson  in  connection  with  recent  summer  schools  and  have 
been  widely  approved. 


134 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  RURAL  CHURCH  SCHOOL 


or  other  new  lines  of  departure  in  the  field  of  religious  education  are 
effective.  It  is  a  disappointment  to  find  that  such  policies  are  rare. 
Since  no  large  amount  of  progressive  work  was  found  in  these  typical 
counties,  it  is  clear  that  the  small  school  has  not  yet  learned  to  apply 
modern  pedagogical  principles  to  religious  education.  The  encour¬ 
aging  results  obtained  in  one  county  by  intensive  work  have  been 
alluded  to  and  the  results  described.  In  other  places  daily  vacation 
Bible  classes  running  three  to  four  weeks  were  found;  sometimes 
week-day  religious  education,  either  with  or  without  the  coopera¬ 
tion  of  the  public  school,  was  found  in  operation. 

Valuable  and  suggestive  as  these  efforts  are  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  surveys,  their  number,  less  than  1  per  cent,  of  the  whole, 
is  too  insignificant,  and  their  period  of  existence  too  short,  to  per¬ 
mit  of  their  results  being  appraised.  These  omissions  and  this  in¬ 
difference  are  indicated  by  the  great  needs  that  emerged  in  the 
course  of  the  study.  The  data  here  presented,  however,  sufficiently 
prove  the  need  for  a  progressive  policy  that  will  compel  the  co¬ 
operative  interest  of  the  Church  and  its  organizations  and  lead  to  an 
application  of  these  principles  to  the  community  in  which  it  serves. 

Chapter  Summary 

Between  20  and  25  per  cent,  of  the  town  and  country  churches 
have  no  Sunday  school. 

There  are  three  types  of  Sunday  schools :  those  attached  to 
churches ;  mission  schools  running  under  the  auspices  of  the  parent 
church,  and  independent  union  schools.  The  average  enrollment  of 
rural  church  schools  ranges  from  103  on  the  Pacific  Coast  to  75 
in  the  South.  The  average  enrollment  in  the  mission  and  union 
schools  is  42.  For  the  whole  country,  the  average  enrollment  per 
church  school  is  80. 

The  average  enrollment  of  town  schools  is  148 ;  of  village  schools 
95  and  country  schools  58.  Two-fifths  of  the  rural  schools  are  in 
villages ;  half  are  in  the  country  and  one-tenth  in  the  towns. 

The  attendance  averages  two-thirds  of  the  enrollment. 

Four-fifths  of  the  schools  are  open  the  year  round. 

The  more  modern  and  vigorous  the  program  of  the  school,  the 
better  the  average  attendance  is  apt  to  be. 

The  average  school  is  woefully  lacking  in  modern  educational 
equipment. 

The  teachers  are  for  the  most  part  untrained;  lessons  are  un¬ 
graded,  except  in  some  of  the  younger  class-groups, 

135 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Regular  missionary  instruction  in  the  Sunday  school  has  a  real 
influence  on  missionary  giving  in  the  church. 

Barely  half  the  church  schools  obtain  the  regular  attendance 
of  their  minister. 

The  schools  which  produce  the  greatest  number  of  church  mem¬ 
bers  and  of  life-work  recruits  for  Christian  service,  are  the  schools 
which  have  the  leadership  of  an  active  resident  minister. 

The  number  of  those  entering  full-time  professional  Christian 
service  in  the  last  five  years  is  more  than  double  the  number  in  the 
first  five  years  of  the  decade. 

The  churches  with  classes  to  prepare  for  church  membership  are 
only  20  per  cent,  larger  than  those  without ;  but  they  add  four  times 
as  many  members  per  year. 

The  real  problem  of  the  average  country  Sunday  school  is  largely 
untouched  by  present  programs. 


136 


CHAPTER  VIII 


Equipment  and  Finance 

I.  Equipment. 

NO  matter  what  material  is  used  in  the  construction  of  a 
church,  the  building  is  not  so  much  a  material  symbol  of 
wood,  brick  or  stone  as  it  is  a  spiritual  symbol  to  the  people 
who  have  paid  for  its  construction.  As  to  the  function  and  purpose 
of  a  church,  the  building  is  more  than  a  material  fact;  it  is  a  wit¬ 
ness  to  the  capacity  of  people  to  invest  in  religion,  and  to  give  a  con¬ 
crete  and  practical  form  to  their  idea  of  religion.  This  capacity  is 
determined  not  alone  by  their  resources,  though  these  are  an  im¬ 
portant  consideration,  but  also  by  their  individual  and  corporate  in¬ 
terests. 

What  idea  of  religion  in  rural  America  would  a  visitor  from 
Europe  glean  if  he  were  to  study  nothing  but  our  church  buildings  ? 
Three  out  of  every  four  of  these  have  only  one  or  two  rooms  each. 
How  different  from  the  outward  appearance  of  the  churches,  or 
even  of  the  wayside  chapels  of  Europe,  would  the  visitor  find  the 
bare,  board  exterior  of  this,  our  average  church.  And  its  interior 
would  be,  for  him,  devoid  alike  of  either  dignity  or  beauty.  Instead, 
there  would  be  the  bare  floor,  the  hard  pews,  the  pine  or  golden  oak 
pulpit  set,  and  the  asthmatic  “organ.”  Manifestly,  structures  of  this 
type,  designed  as  buildings  in  which  people  may  assemble  periodically 
for  worship,  and  to  hear  the  word  of  God  expounded,  are  a  prized 
legacy  from  a  day  that  is  gone.  The  story  of  the  pioneers  who  first 
cleared  the  land  of  our  richly  endowed  continent,  who  met  first  for 
religious  services  in  dugout,  log-cabin,  or  the  kitchen  of  a  neighbor, 
and  who  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  religious  service  only  on  those  rare 
occasions  when  the  circuit  rider  arrived,  is  well  known. 

\ 

Needs:  Functional  and  Religious 

The  growth  of  the  church  building  from  the  early  practical  type 
to  a  structure  containing  three,  six  or  even  as  many  as  two  dozen 
rooms,  evidences  the  expanding  vision  of  the  people  as  to  the  social 

137 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


and  religious  functions  of  the  Church.  Almost  invariably  the  first 
room  to  be  added  has  been  the  kitchen ;  and  along  with  it  a  space 
for  the  primary  department  of  the  Sunday  school.  The  next  de¬ 
velopment  took  place  in  the  field  of  religious  education.  There  were 
added  separate  study  rooms  for  the  Sunday  school  classes.  An¬ 
other  feature  was  the  accommodation  of  the  Ladies’  Aid  Society. 
Last  and  rarest  of  all  has  come  the  utilization  of  the  church  fabric 
and  its  facilities  for  a  community  service  program.  Consolidated 
schools  and  their  intensive  use  by  the  community  as  a  whole,  adults 
as  well  as  minors,  have  shown  the  way  to  the  Church.  Sunday  school 
classrooms  are  being  turned  over  to  the  Boy  Scouts  or  Knights  of 
King  Arthur  for  week-day  use.  The  Camp  Fire  Girls  or  the  Girl 
Scouts  have  another  room.  Here  and  there  a  gymnasium  has  been 
added. 

It  appears  that,  as  a  rule,  the  fewer  rooms  a  church  building  has 
the  smaller  the  group  of  people  which  it  serves.  Congregations  that 
worship  in  buildings  of  one  or  two  rooms  average  a  resident  mem¬ 
bership  of  sixty-seven ;  while  those  with  three  or  more  rooms  possess 
an  average  membership  of  138.  In  the  Colonial  Area,  and  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  the  number  of  rooms  per  building  increases  rapidly 
after  the  group  passes  the  hundred  mark  in  membership.  Elsewhere, 
the  membership  must  be  considerably  higher  before  the  enlargement 
of  the  church  building  engages  its  congregation.  Nor  is  this  phys¬ 
ical  relation  between  size  of  congregation  and  size  of  church  build¬ 
ing  merely  a  matter  of  convenience  and  comfort. 

It  does  not  and  cannot  end  with  so  material  a  limitation  of  size 
and  content.  Greater  than  the  expression  of  the  material  limitations 
are  the  spiritual  ones  with  which  such  congregations  are  involved. 
The  difference  in  size  of  membership  often  affects  the  program  of  a 
church  more  than  does  the  type  of  building;  but  if  the  building  does 
express  the  needs  and  aspirations  of  a  congregation,  then  it  must 
also  affect  the  church  program.  Some  congregations  are  satisfied 
with  a  selfish,  individual  standard  of  comfort.  A  pew  for  individual 
use  in  a  church  for  individual  expression  sums  up  their  spiritual 
idealism.  But  there  are  many  small  congregations  with  a  keen  sense 
of  Christian  duty  and  service  “unto  all  the  world” ;  and  nothing  but 
a  church  building  that  will  express  this  larger  idea  adequately  will 
satisfy  them.  As  a  result,  their  gains  in  membership  through  the 
resulting  enlarged  contact  with  their  environment,  are  the  rewards 
of  policy. 


J38 


EQUIPMENT  AND  FINANCE 


Waste  versus  Efficiency 

The  fact  is  what  the  average  person  would  expect.  It  seems, 
however,  to  indicate  two  things :  first,  no  church  with  two  rooms,  or 
with  only  one  for  that  matter,  need  despair  of  adopting  a  modern, 
efficient  program  simply  because  of  an  inadequate  plant.  Some  of 
the  most  successful  religious  enterprises  in  rural  America  are  being 
carried  on  by  churches  of  one  or  two  rooms.  They  are  more  than 
justified  by  the  fact  that  one-quarter  of  the  schools  meeting  in  such 
buildings  have  graded  lessons;  that  more  than  one-fifth  of  them 
have  missionary  education;  that  nearly  one-fifth  are  carrying  on 
some  sort  of  week-day  program.  The  idea  of  the  functions  of  a 
church  can  soon  outgrow  the  physical  idea  which  houses  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  churches  with  three  rooms  or  more  better  this  record 
proportionately  by  from  one-half  to  three  times  on  all  items  con¬ 
nected  with  religious  education  and  the  social  program. 

Secondly,  too  many  of  the  churches  which  are  blessed  with 
larger  buildings  fail  to  use  them  to  their  fullest  extent:  far  too 
many  Sunday  school  rooms  are  occupied  merely  an  hour  a  week. 
Visual  instruction  in  the  Sunday  school,  even  with  the  advantages 
of  a  stereopticon  or  even  a  moving-picture  machine,  is  too  often 
confined  to  highly  colored  pictures  illustrating  the  Golden  Text  of 
the  day  to  children  in  the  primary  department.  It  is  a  perfunctory 
use,  a  self-imposed  limitation,  as  well  as  a  waste  of  a  spiritual  and 
economic  asset.  But  when  a  Sunday  school  room  is  used  during  the 
week  by  the  Boy  or  Girl  Scouts,  or  some  kindred  organization,  the 
Church  relates  itself  to  more  than  one  of  its  juvenile  groups  and 
thus  becomes  a  factor  in  the  religious  and  social  lives  of  the  young. 
The  proportion  of  young  people  who  have  joined  churches  that  are 
making  good  use  of  their  social  equipment  is  20  per  cent,  more  than 
the  proportion  of  young  in  churches  lacking  equipment. 

So  much  for  its  local  responsibilities.  But  the  economic  obliga¬ 
tions  of  a  rural  church  to  the  nation  should  not  be  overlooked.  The 
churches  in  these  counties  represent  a  total  property  valuation  of 
more  than  $6,000,000,  which  is  tax  free.  Tax  rates  in  some  of  the 
counties  studied  are  higher  than  6  per  cent,  on  assessments  that  are 
supposed  to  represent  full  valuation.  In  very  few  counties  are  they 
below  the  equivalent  of  1  per  cent,  on  a  full  valuation.  It  is  a  con¬ 
servative  estimate  that  the  average  contribution  of  Government  to 
the  average  church  in  these  counties  amounts  to  $75  or  $100  a  year. 
It  is,  of  course,  a  gift  based  upon  an  implied  public  or  community 
service,  the  payment  of  which  is  expressible  only  in  terms  of 

139 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


social  value,  such  as  character-building.  Thus,  there  is  not  only  the 
possibility  of  a  larger  use  of  church  plants  as  they  exist,  but  there 
is  also  a  definite  social  and  economic  obligation  apart  from  those 
higher  motives  of  Christian  service.  Since  under  our  democratic 
institutions  State  and  Church  are  independent  and  respect  each  other, 
the  same  standards  of  efficient  service  in  kind  should  be  rendered 
by  each.  But  does  the  Church  pay  its  share  in  full  religious  and 
social  service  to  the  State? 

Both  Great  and  Small  in  Town  and  Country 

As  is  to  be  expected,  the  largest  or  most  costly  buildings  are  for 
the  most  part  found  in  towns,  the  less  expensive  in  the  open  country. 
The  range  in  values  for  town  churches  is  from  $1,000  to  $100,000. 
In  only  two  counties  is  the  most  costly  town  church  valued  at  $5,000 
or  less.  The  average  value  for  the  town  churches  ranges  from  a 
little  more  than  $10,000  in  the  Middle  West  to  $16,342  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  The  mode  lies  between  $4,000  and  $8,000.  Only  four  town 
churches,  all  in  the  Middle  West,  are  valued  at  less  than  $1,500. 

Village  churches  seem  to  conform  much  more  nearly  to  a  type 
than  do  those  of  either  the  town  or  the  country.  The  average  value 
in  the  South  and  in  the  Colonial  Area  is  a  little  in  excess  of  $7,500. 
The  Middle  West,  Pacific  and  Range  Regions,  respectively,  follow 
with  an  average  valuation  that  fluctuates  between  $3,400  and  $5,600. 
The  most  costly  village  church  in  the  study  was  found  in  Orange 
County,  N.  C.,  with  a  valuation  of  $61,000.  Fifty-nine  churches, 
one-sixth  of  the  total  number,  are  valued  at  $1,500  or  less. 

The  country  church  in  the  Colonial  Area,  and  in  those  parts  of 
the  Middle  West  which  are  largely  peopled  by  Northern  European 
immigrants,  reflects  the  European  tradition.  It  is  more  stable, 
larger  and  more  expensively  constructed  than  the  church  of  any 
other  part  of  America,  so  that  the  valuations  in  these  two  areas 
total  $3,600  and  3,400  respectively,  and  some  counties  average  $7,000 
per  church.  Quite  different  is  the  country  church  in  the  South, 
where  one-  and  two-room  buildings  predominate,  and  where  the  aver¬ 
age  valuation  is  slightly  less  than  $1,500.  The  Pacific  Coast  and 
the  Range  fall  between  these  groups.  The  country  church  in  the 
Pacific  is  weaker,  especially  in  the  irrigated  regions,  because  the 
stronger  town  and  village  church  reflects  the  higher  density  of  popu¬ 
lation  and  the  very  good  roads.  The  average  valuation  is  $2,100. 
More  than  one-third  of  the  606  county  edifices  are  valued  at  less 
than  $1,500  each,  but  60  per  cent,  of  these  are  in  the  South. 

140 


EQUIPMENT  AND  FINANCE 

On  the  Range  the  influence  of  pioneer  and  home  mission  days 
still  survives  in  the  one-room  building,  largely  prevalent  in  the 
country,  with  an  average  valuation  of  $1,670.  As  is  to  be  expected, 
the  Range  has  a  larger  number  of  country  churches  valued  at  less 
than  $1,000  than  can  be  found  in  either  of  the  other  groups.  But 
the  fact  that  the  maximum  valuations  in  several  counties  exceed 
$30,000,  that  almost  all  counties  except  on  the  Range  exceed  $5,000, 
bears  witness  to  the  fact  that  it  is  possible  to  erect  and  maintain 
churches  of  no  mean  kind  in  the  open  country. 

i 

II.  Finance. 

During  the  old  days  of  the  circuit  rider  and  the  episodic  preach¬ 
ing  service,  church  expenses  were  at  a  minimum,  and  as  late  as  the 
’eighties  and  ’nineties  ministers  in  some  parts  of  the  country  re¬ 
ceived  much  of  their  salary  “in  kind.”  As  the  cost  and  scale  of 
living  slowly  increased  the  sacrifices  of  the  country  minister  be¬ 
came  correspondingly  serious. 

With  the  inception  of  the  Laymen’s  Missionary  Movement  and 
the  first  stirrings  of  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  which  culminated 
in  denominational  drives,  a  great  deal  of  attention  was  paid  to  more 
efficient  methods  of  church  finance,  so  that  to-day  we  have  a  stand¬ 
ardized  plan  for  most  denominations  calling  for  the  formation  of 
an  annual  budget,  an  annual  every-member  canvass,  and  a  weekly 
envelope  system  to  facilitate  the  payment  of  the  pledges  made  during 
the  canvass. 

The  country  was  not  cordial  to  these  innovations,  and  it  is  still 
asserted  that  country  people  are  slow  in  adapting  themselves  to  this 
system.  In  many  parts  of  the  country  the  farmer  is  paid  for  his 
crop  only  once  a  year,  and  the  occasion  marks  a  grand  settlement. 
This  custom,  however,  is  passing;  on  most  farms  there  is  butter 
and  egg  money,  or  a  small  revenue  from  a  few  cows  that  may  be 
kept,  even  in  non-dairying  areas.  Efficient  and  regular  financial 
systems  have,  therefore,  been  gaining  ground. 

Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  churches  considered  in  this  study  now 
operate  on  a  budget  system.  Nearly  half  have  an  every-member 
canvass,  while  48  per  cent,  use  the  weekly  envelope  system.  In 
some  counties  the  proportion  of  churches  using  some  one  of  these 
three  items  is  well  over  80  per  cent.  In  churches  of  the  Middle  West 
and  the  Colonial  Areas  70  per  cent,  use  both  the  weekly  envelope 
and  the  budget  systems.  For  the  country  as  a  whole,  nearly  one- 
third  of  the  churches  use  all  three  of  these  aids  to  efficient  finance. 

141 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Strangely  enough,  the  Range  states,  where  the  difficulties  of  isola¬ 
tion  are  the  greatest,  lead  the  other  regions  in  this  particular,  every 
other  church  having  all  three  of  these  items.  Possibly  this  is  be¬ 
cause  the  Range  is  missionary  territory  and  some  supporting  boards 
demand  efficient  local  administration  as  a  prerequisite  to  securing 
home  mission  aid. 

The  Rewards  of  System  and  Method 

The  differences  between  efficiency  and  its  absence  in  rural  church 
finance  are  really  quite  striking.  Apart  from  three  village  churches 
in  the  Range  country,  where  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  building 
that  ran  up  the  per  capita  contributions,  the  churches  in  other  re¬ 
gions  of  the  United  States  with  all  three  elements  of  financial  effi¬ 
ciency  exceed  those  without  these  approved  financial  methods  by 
from  12  to  more  than  100  per  cent,  in  per  capita  contributions,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  county  and  the  region.  This  fact  applies  to  town, 
village  and  country  churches  alike.  Furthermore,  the  residence  of 
the  minister  profoundly  affects  church  finance,  even  where  financial 
systems  are  modern.  Thus,  while  village  churches  with  resident 
ministers  average  $22.69  per  capita  in  contributions,  those  without 
resident  pastors  average  just  a  little  over  $10.  In  the  country,  as 
between  a  resident  minister  whose  church  uses  an  efficient  financial 
system  and  a  church  with  a  non-resident  minister,  and  with  no 
financial  system,  the  former  shows  nearly  75  per  cent,  increase  in 
per  capita  contributions.  The  actual  figures  are  $21.14  as  against 
$12.39. 

The  churches  in  these  counties  contribute  nearly  a  million  and 
a  half  dollars  annually  for  all  causes.  The  distribution  of  this  money 
is  rather  interesting.  In  the  Southern  churches,  where  the  per  capita 
giving  is  the  lowest,  the  proportion  of  money  given  to  benevolences 
is  highest,  amounting  to  37  per  cent.  This,  of  course,  is  in  part 
because  the  one-room  buildings  of  the  South  and  the  pastoral  visits 
once  or  twice  a  month  do  not  put  a  very  heavy  drain  upon  the 
financial  resources  of  the  membership. 

Of  the  other  regions,  the  irrigated  areas  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
lead.  They  allocate  almost  one-third  of  their  total  income  to  be¬ 
nevolent  work.  The  Middle  West  is  next  with  31.1  per  cent.  The 
Colonial  Area  and  the  Range  states  follow  with  27  per  cent,  and 
24.4  per  cent,  respectively.  If  it  were  not  for  the  low  benevolent 
giving  of  the  New  England  county  included  within  this  study,  the 

142 


EQUIPMENT  AND  FINANCE 

record  of  the  Colonial  states  would  approximately  equal  that  of  the 
Middle  West  and  the  Pacific. 

Half  a  decade  ago  it  was  the  unusual  country  church  that  gave 
as  much  as  25  per  cent,  of  its  income  to  causes  other  than  those 
connected  with  its  own  support.  With  this  sample  of  twenty-five 
counties  to  represent  the  entire  nation,  the  figure  has  become  30.4, 
and  for  two  reasons.  First,  the  success  of  the  Laymen’s  Missionary 
Education  Movement  and  the  denominational  drives;  and  second, 
the  widening  vision  of  the  people  themselves,  as  shown  by  the  re¬ 
sponse  to  the  propaganda  of  these  organizations. 

The  Expense  Account 

Salaries,  of  course,  bulk  large  in  the  budget  of  every  church,  the 
proportion  ranging  from  46.3  per  cent,  of  the  church  budget  in  the 
Colonial  Area,  a  figure  nearly  equaled  by  the  Range,  down  to  35.4 
per  cent,  in  the  irrigated  regions  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  is,  how¬ 
ever,  in  these  irrigated  areas  that  the  amount  per  capita  given  by 
members  for  salary  of  ministers  is  highest.  The  other  expenses  in¬ 
cident  to  church  maintenance  are  highest  in  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
the  Range  Country,  in  both  of  which  regions  they  exceed  30  per  cent., 
while  they  are  lowest  in  the  South.  This  is  just  what  would  be 
expected.  Church  building  is  going  on  in  the  two  western  regions 
at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  in  any  other  part  of  America.  Moreover, 
the  buildings  tend  to  have  more  rooms,  especially  in  the  irrigated 
areas ;  therefore,  there  is  a  higher  upkeep.  For  the  country  as  a 
whole  the  distribution  of  rural  church  income  is  as  follows :  Salary, 
41.1  per  cent.;  benevolences,  30.4  per  cent.;  other  expenses,  28.5 
per  cent. 


The  Christian  Laborer  and  His  Hire 

It  has  been  seen  from  the  above  that  pastors’  salaries  make  up 
a  most  important  part  of  church  expenses.  The  salaries  paid  by 
the  town  and  country  churches  to  their  ministers  are  surprisingly 
low :  increase  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  marked  rise  in  benevolences 
nor  with  living  costs.  Six  hundred  and  fifty-five  ministers,  includ¬ 
ing  the  toiler  preachers  of  the  Southern  mountains,  are  included  in 
the  study.  About  one-seventh  of  this  number  also  follow  their 
secular  occupations.  Most  of  the  men  who  give  full  time  to  the 
ministry  fall  within  these  four  salary  groups — $751  to  $1,000; 

143 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

$1,001  to  $1,250;  $1,251  to  $1,500;  and  $1,501  to  $1,750.  The 
peak  is  reached  in  the  two  middle  groups  of  this  series ;  237  minis¬ 
ters,  of  the  565  who  give  their  full  time  to  the  pastorate,  receive 
between  $1,000  and  $1,500.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  in  these 
figures  is  included  the  $250  allowed  for  the  rental  value  of  each 
parsonage  that  is  provided  free  of  charge.  Variations  between  re¬ 
gions  are  rather  marked.  There  are  more  men,  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  churches,  receiving  more  than  $2,000  in  the  Range  and 
Pacific  Coast  than  anywhere  else.  Only  a  little  less  than  one  out  of 
every  ten  ministers,  nationally  speaking,  receives  this  salary. 

Churches  that  enjoy  the  full  time  of  a  pastor  pay,  on  the  aver¬ 
age,  $999.62  toward  his  support,  in  which  sum  is  included  the 
rental  value  of  the  parsonage.  Churches  which  have  a  resident  min¬ 
ister,  but  which  share  him  with  neighboring  stations,  average  $616 
toward  his  support,  the  outlying  churches  contributing  the  rest  of 
the  salary.  The  average  church  with  a  non-resident  minister  gives 
only  $193  a  year  to  its  ministry.  These  averages  are  contributions 
to  salary  per  church.  They  do  not  include  home  mission  grants. 
In  the  previous  paragraphs  the  grants  were  included. 

The  highest  average  salary  for  a  resident  minister  giving  full 
time  to  a  single  congregation  is  paid  in  two  extremes  of  our  coun¬ 
try:  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  seaboards,  where  the  figure  is  just 
a  little  short  of  $1,300.  The  Range  and  the  Middle  West  churches 
follow,  the  former  pushing  the  other  regions  very  closely.  It  is  to 
be  seen,  therefore,  that  throughout  America  there  is  a  rather  stable 
standard  for  ministerial  support.  Economic  differences  are  not 
nearly  so  apparent  in  the  salaries  of  those  men  who  devote  all  their 
energies  to  one  church  and  have  no  other  occupation.  Variations 
governed  by  economic  conditions  appear  chiefly  in  the  higher  salary 
class.  Thus,  those  pastors  receiving  more  than  $2,000  a  year  are 
located  almost  exclusively  either  in  towns  or  prosperous  villages, 
or  they  serve  churches  in  the  most  prosperous  agricultural  counties 
among  those  selected. 

Labor  That  Is  in  Vain 

This  revelation  of  the  pastoral  salary  paid  in  the  rural  churches 
of  America  is  one  of  the  saddest  chapters  in  the  study.  It  needs  no 
word  of  explanation.  For  many  years  the  subject  of  adequate  min¬ 
isterial  support  has  been  agitated.  Of  all  professional  workers,  of 
whom  a  high  standard  of  preliminary  training  is  expected,  the  min¬ 
isters  of  the  Church  are  paid  the  least ;  nor  has  the  great  increase 

144 


EQUIPMENT  AND  FINANCE 


in  the  cost  of  living,  which  has  been  considered  in  the  wages  of  all 
strata  of  labor,  been  considered  in  this  particular  case.  A  slight 
trend  upward  is  shown  in  denominational  averages,  and  from  the 
data  gathered  incidentally  in  this  study,  but  the  total  improvement 
is  one  in  dollars  and  not  in  purchasing  power.  How  closely  these 
things  relate  to  the  short  pastorate,  a  term  of  service  which  is  de¬ 
creasing  despite  all  denominational  efforts  to  increase  it,  and  to 
the  number  of  men  who  are  forced  to  surrender  the  pittance  of  the 
ministry,  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  Those  who  remain  in  the  service 
of  the  Church  do  so  with  sacrifices  involving  a  vast  amount  of  un¬ 
known  spiritual,  mental  and  physical  suffering.  Until  the  question 
of  adequate  ministerial  salaries  takes  precedence  over  all  other 
phases  of  church  administration  and  finance  there  will  be  a  dearth 
of  spiritual  leadership,  especially  in  the  rural  church,  where  it  is 
conspicuously  needed. 


The  Full-Time  Pastor 

If  the  ideal  of  one  pastor  for  every  church  in  an  average  situa¬ 
tion  is  correct,  it  is  of  interest  to  note  the  budgets  of  the  churches 
which  enjoy  the  full  time  of  one  man.  They  comprise  almost  one- 
fourth  of  all  those  in  this  study;  while  15  per  cent,  have  each  a  resi¬ 
dent  minister  who  is  shared  with  one  or  more  outlying  stations. 
The  Middle  West  leads  with  an  annual  budget  of  $3,457.11.  The 
Pacific  Coast  is  a  few  dollars  below  this  sum,  while  the  South  fol¬ 
lows  with  just  a  little  short  of  $3,300  per  church.  It  should  be 
stated,  however,  that  the  Southern  sample  is  very  small.  There  are 
only  eleven  churches  out  of  the  273  in  this  Southern  region  which 
have  full-time  resident  ministers.  The  Colonial  Area  comes  next 
with  $2,202  per  church,  followed  by  the  Range  with  $1,800.  The 
income  of  the  churches  in  the  Range  is,  of  course,  supplemented  by 
home  mission  aid. 

While  these  regional  budget  averages  are  nearly  the  same,  the 
scale  of  difference  within  each  region  is  considerable.  Thus,  within 
the  Colonial  Area  it  is  $1,775  per  church  in  Addison  County,  Ver¬ 
mont,  and  $3,226  in  Columbia  County,  Pennsylvania.  In  the  Middle 
West  the  variation  is  from  $8,202  in  Atchison  County,  Missouri, 
to  $1,264  in  Price  County,  Wisconsin.  Atchison,  by  the  way,  has 
the  highest  average  budget  for  churches  in  this  class  in  the  study. 
For  the  entire  country  the  average  budget  for  rural  churches  with 
full-time  pastors  is  $3,063.61. 

For  the  churches  with  resident  ministers  who  give  part-time  serv- 

145 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

ice,  the  average  budget  is  $1,924.69.  The  churches  with  non-resi¬ 
dent  ministers  raise  on  an  average  only  $558.89.  It  will  be  seen, 
therefore,  that  while  the  membership  of  the  average  church  in  the 
latter  group  is  almost  one-half  the  membership  of  the  average  church 
with  a  full-time  resident  pastor,  yet  the  amount  of  money  which 
it  raises  is  only  a  little  better  than  one-sixth  of  the  amount  annually 
raised  under  the  budget  system  by  the  church  with  the  full-time  resi¬ 
dent  pastor.  The  more  time  that  any  church  can  have  from  its 
minister  the  more  it  gives,  not  only  towards  ministerial  support, 
but  also  to  missionary  causes. 

So  much  for  the  budget  or  corporate  contribution.  There  is, 
however,  the  widest  range  in  per  capita  giving  in  these  counties. 
Durham,  North  Carolina,  is  lowest  with  $7.60  per  active  member 
per  year.  Orange,  California,  is  highest  with  an  individual  quota 
of  $37.54.  Orange,  of  course,  was  the  most  prosperous  of  all  the 
counties  studied.  Prosperity,  however,  does  not  necessarily  deter¬ 
mine  the  amount  of  contributions.  Thus,  Salem  County,  New  Jer¬ 
sey,  one  of  the  richest  trucking  areas  in  the  East,  with  its  average 
per  capita  contribution  of  $17.60  shows  rather  poorly  in  comparison 
with  Pend  Oreille  County,  Washington.  In  Pend  Oreille  farming 
is  still  in  the  homesteading  stage,  and  the  soil  is  poor ;  but  the  aver¬ 
age  contribution  for  the  county  amounts  to  $24.96  per  capita,  and 
in  one  community  falls  just  a  little  short  of  $50.  Indeed,  even  the 
giving  of  prosperous  Orange  County,  California,  is  put  to  shame 
by  figures  such  as  these. 

General  Per  Capita  Giving 

Little  has  been  said  about  per  capita  giving  in  the  large,  as  the 
figures  show  little  that  is  significant.  The  range  as  among  the  coun¬ 
ties  has  just  been  indicated.  The  regional  variations  are  similar 
with  the  South  lowest,  and  the  Pacific  highest,  and  the  Northern 
Colonial  and  Middle  West  regions  approximating  the  national  aver¬ 
age  of  $17.89.  Such  figures  include  all  churches  regardless  of  sys¬ 
tem  used  or  pastoral  service  employed  and  they  take  no  account  of 
the  farm  income,  mortgage  debt,  land  values  or  other  economic  fac¬ 
tors  which  condition  giving. 


146 


EQUIPMENT  AND  FINANCE 


Chapter  Summary 
Equipment 

Three-fourths  of  the  churches  are  one-  or  two-room  buildings 
of  unattractive  and  nearly  uniform  design.  Church  work  can  be 
successful  in  such  buildings;  but  churches  with  three  rooms  or  more 
make  proportionately  from  50  to  300  per  cent,  better  records  through 
various  features  of  the  church  program,  especially  in  relation  to  re¬ 
ligious  education. 

Too  often  larger  buildings  are  not  utilized  to  their  full  capacity. 

The  total  valuation  of  rural  church  buildings  in  these  counties 
is  $6,000,000.  Since  this  property  is  free  from  tax  the  average  an¬ 
nual  contribution  of  Government  to  each  church  is  not  less  than  $75. 

Finance 

The  annual  budget,  every-member  canvass  or  envelope  system 
are  being  increasingly  developed.  One-third  of  the  town  and  country 
churches  use  all  three  elements  in  an  efficient  financial  system. 

The  per  capita  contributions  of  these  churches  exceed  those 
without  an  efficient  financial  system  by  from  12  to  100  per  cent., 
depending  on  the  region. 

The  resident  minister  always  produces  larger  per  capita  con¬ 
tributions  than  the  non-resident. 

Thirty  per  cent,  of  all  monies  raised  is  given  to  benevolences 
and  41  per  cent,  to  salaries. 

One-third  of  the  resident  ministers  receive  a  salary  of  from 
$1,000  each  to  $1,500,  in  cash  or  its  equivalent.  The  average  salary 
of  the  resident  minister,  including  rental  value  of  the  parsonage  is 
$1,029.75. 

The  average  budget  of  a  rural  church  with  a  full-time  resident 
minister  is  $3,063.61 ;  for  the  church  with  a  part-time,  resident  min¬ 
ister  it  is  $1,924.69;  for  the  church  with  non-resident  minister  it 
is  $558.89. 

Per  capita  contributions  range  from  $7.60  in  one  southern  county 
to  $37.54  in  Orange  County,  California. 


147 


CHAPTER  IX 


The  Rural  Church  and  Racial  Groups 

A  PPROXIMATELY  one-third  of  the  new  Americans,  the 
foreign-born  and  their  children,  are  in  rural  communities. 
Nearly  30  per  cent,  of  our  farmers  are  of  other  than  Ameri¬ 
can  nativity.  Almost  every  other  farmer  in  North  Dakota  is  for¬ 
eign-born.  North  Dakota,  it  should  be  remembered,  is  the  state 
of  the  Non-Partisan  League,  the  state  of  the  most  radical  political 
experiments  made  in  this  country.  In  a  dozen  other  states,  from  one- 
fifth  to  two-fifths  of  the  farmers  are  of  foreign  blood.  Minnesota 
leads  in  this  respect,  and  there  also  the  Non-Partisan  League  has 
made  considerable  progress.  The  problem  of  the  New  American, 
therefore,  is  a  problem  of  the  town  and  country  as  well  as  of  the 
city. 


New  Blood  in  Old  States 

The  counties  covered  in  this  investigation  are  no  exception  to  the 
general  rule.  Even  including  those  in  the  South,  it  is  found  that 
the  foreign  element  makes  up  more  than  a  fifth  of  the  town  and 
country  population.  Excluding  those  in  the  South,  more  than  28 
per  cent,  of  the  population  in  the  remaining  counties  is  foreign-born 
or  of  foreign  extraction.  The  figures  vary  considerably  with  the 
regions.  In  the  South  the  number  of  newcomers  from  foreign  lands 
is  still  small.  The  Northern  Colonial  Area  has  counties  in  which 
there  are  almost  no  foreign-born,  and  other  counties  in  which  for¬ 
eigners  form  a  very  considerable  part  of  the  rural  population,  as 
is  the  case,  for  example,  in  Addison  County,  Vermont,  into  which 
French  Canadians  have  poured  for  the  last  two  decades. 

The  Middle  West  has  the  largest  proportion  of  foreigners ;  there 
they  are  slightly  in  excess  of  two-fifths  of  the  population.  The  Pa¬ 
cific  Coast  follows  with  the  foreign  element  making  up  a  little  more 
than  a  third  of  its  population.  The  Range  Country  returns  an  even 
figure  of  25  per  cent.  The  majority  of  those  brought  to  rural  Amer¬ 
ica  by  comparatively  recent  immigration,  apart  from  that  naturalized 
foreign  stock  from  our  own  Continent,  is  still  of  North  European 
extraction ;  but  the  groups  from  southern  Europe  have  shown  a 

148 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  AND  RACIAL  GROUPS 


relatively  larger  gain  in  the  last  few  years.  In  other  words,  the 
rural  movements  of  population  are  following  closely  those  already 
experienced  by  our  cities:  that  is  to  say,  the  heavy  inflow  of  North 
Europeans  has  been  followed  by  a  flood  from  the  Balkans  and  other 
South  European  countries. 

With  this  considerable  foreign  element  within  its  boundaries,  the 
average  rural  community  has  stood  helpless  and  all  but  hopeless.  In 
some»areas  the  inflow  has  assumed  the  proportions  of  an  inundation, 
with  a  native  American  community  standing  out  here  and  there  in 
sheer  isolation.  Place  names  picturesquely  indicate  the  foreign 
sources  of  the  different  national  groups  which  succeeding  eddies 
of  the  great,  ever-changing  immigrant  stream  have  deposited  over 
the  land.  The  people  brought  to  a  particular  rural  area  by  a  new 
inflow  have  in  many  cases  crowded  out  those  who  preceded  them. 
London,  Plymouth,  Channing,  in  Wisconsin,  for  example,  were  vil¬ 
lages  settled  by  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans.  The  indigenous 
American  stock  from  the  New  England  reservoir,  by  which  the 
western  states  were  settled,  was  forced  off  the  Wisconsin  land  by 
the  engulfing  tide  of  Teutonic  and  Scandinavian  immigration.  Once 
more  those  of  this  American  stock  faced  westward,  this  time  to 
find  new  homes  in  Iowa,  but  leaving  stranded  communities  in  the 
flooded  areas  whose  new  postal  addresses  bore  place  names  of  Teu¬ 
tonic  or  Scandinavian  origin. 

“I  Will  Gather  All  Nations  and  Tongues” 

The  North  European,  for  the  most  part,  has  had  a  Protestant 
tradition,  and  has  brought  his  church  with  him.  Many  of  these 
churches,  especially  those  of  the  German-speaking  people,  still  use 
the  native  language;  and  there  is,  in  the  Middle  West,  a  distinct 
cleavage  between  the  older  and  younger  elements  within  these 
churches  over  the  use  of  English.  This  is  also  true,  but  to  a  less 
extent,  of  the  Scandinavians.  It  is  natural  to  find  the  American- 
born  younger  generation  shedding  the  European  culture  and  customs 
of  its  forbears.  Both  these  racial  groups,  however,  have  built 
churches  considerably  larger  than  those  of  their  English-speaking 
neighbors,  great,  vigorous  churches,  which  naturally  reflect  the  litur¬ 
gical  traditions  that  reach  back  to  the  historic  European  foundations. 
In  every  region  the  average  budget  of  these  churches  surpasses  any 
of  those  ministering  to  the  native-born  population.  As  is  to  be  ex¬ 
pected,  their  membership  is  also  larger,  which  accounts  for  the  fact 
that  their  per  capita  giving  is  less. 

149 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Thus,  for  the  whole  country  the  average  membership  of  these 
foreign-speaking  churches  is  131  as  against  seventy-three  in  the 
English-speaking  organizations.  Their  average  budget  is  $2,008.92 
as  against  $1,372.94.  Their  per  capita  contribution  is  $15.34  as 
against  $18.80  for  the  English-speaking  churches.  There  is  very 
little  variation  in  these  figures  in  the  Middle  West,  where  the  for¬ 
eign-language  group  is  strongest  and  is  represented  by  about  one- 
third  of  the  churches  in  the  counties  studied.  On  the  Pacific  Coast, 
where  the  greatest  variation  in  budget  occurs,  the  average  church 
of  the  foreign  group  expends  more  than  $3,500  as  against  $1,900 
for  the  other  churches.1 

Other  characteristics  of  the  foreign-language  groups  are  their 
belief  in  the  settled,  resident  minister  and  their  tradition  of  long 
pastorates.  These  are  strongly  reminiscent  of  their  European  back¬ 
ground  with  its  settled,  static,  communal  and  family  life.  The 
parish  of  their  minister  includes,  on  the  average,  only  one  and  three- 
tenths  churches;  while  his  English-speaking  colleague  has  nearly 
two.  It  is  only  in  the  matter  of  salaries  that  the  two  groups  are  vir¬ 
tually  on  the  same  level ;  but  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  minister 
of  the  foreign-speaking  church,  with  its  large  membership,  has  a 
considerable  income  from  perquisites,  another  survival  of  European 
custom,  which  materially  assists  him  in  making  both  ends  meet. 

Eventually  these  groups,  whatever  their  tradition  or  denomina¬ 
tion,  will  become  English-speaking.  Conspicuous  rural  successes 
are  to  be  found  among  those  who  have  arrived  at  the  period  of 
complete  Americanization:  their  church  and  their  community  life 
are  in  perfect  accord  with  their  environment. 

Ten  years  ago  the  Scandinavian  Baptist  Church  at  Big  Springs, 
S.  D.,  held  every  service  in  Swedish.  To-day  almost  every  activity 
is  conducted  in  English.  The  new  English-speaking  program  has 
brought  a  new  parsonage  and  a  new  church  building,  both  of  the 
latest  American  standard  of  comfort  and  utility.  The  program  of 
the  church  is  deeply  spiritual  and  highly  evangelistic;  but  it  also 
has  a  social  side  that  closely  unites  the  church  with  the  community. 

“They  Were  Counted  as  a  Strange  Thing’, 

It  is,  of  course,  the  foreigner  outside  of  organized  religion  who 
should  cause  the  Church  most  concern.  The  North- European 
groups,  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  are  largely  caring  for 
themselves,  in  contrast  with  groups  from  farther  south  in  Europe 

1  These  figures  do  not  include  the  Mexican  Missions. 

150 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  AND  RACIAL  GROUPS 


who  present  an  entirely  different  problem.  It  is  often  assumed  that 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  cares  for  the  people  of  the  latter  groups. 
The  counties  considered  contain  more  than  100,000  new  Americans. 
If  we  deduct  those  who  are  members  of  the  Protestant  foreign¬ 
speaking  churches,  and  assume  that  the  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  churches  are  all  foreign-born,  an  assumption  quite  contrary 
to  fact,  we  find  that  more  than  50,000  of  this  group  are  outside  the 
immediate  influence  of  any  church,  Catholic  or  Protestant. 

Such  is  the  challenging  fact  which  confronts  the  country  church 
in  America  to-day.  The  failure  of  organized  Protestantism  to  sense 
the  full  situation  is  serious.  Education  alone  cannot  Americanize 
in  the  country  as  perhaps  it  can  in  the  city.  The  rural  school  is  ad¬ 
mittedly  too  weak.  Prof.  Brim,  of  Cornell,  reporting  at  the  1922 
meeting  of  the  American  Country  Life  Association,  pointed  out  that 
for  the  schools  of  our  greatest  Commonwealth  half  the  rural  teach¬ 
ers  are  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  three-fourths  of  them 
are  lacking  in  any  adequate  professional  training  for  their  tasks. 
Coupled  with  this  fact  there  is  the  tremendous  turnover  of  rural 
teachers,  amounting  to  more  than  20  per  cent,  annually.  The  one- 
room  school  is  no  better  able  to  care  for  the  task  of  Americanization 
than  is  the  one-room  church. 

If  the  people  were  awakened  to  the  real  situation,  the  local 
church,  unlike  the  rural  school,  could  doubtless  have  behind  it,  to 
aid  in  solving  the  problem,  the  national  boards  with  funds  and  men 
at  their  disposal.  What,  then,  is  the  actual  situation? 

In  most  counties  the  Church  is  doing  next  to  nothing  in  its  ap¬ 
proach  to  the  foreign-born.  Too  often,  in  fact,  the  presence  of  the 
foreigners  is  simply  ignored.  Hundreds  of  churches  faced  with 
the  problem  reply  that  they  are  “sympathetic”  toward  the  newcom¬ 
ers  ;  and  sympathy,  where  love  should  be,  covers  a  multitude  of  sins 
of  omission. 

Within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles  of  one  thriving  American  town 
in  the  Southwest  are  2,000  foreign-born,  80  per  cent,  of  them  of 
one  nationality.  They  are  gathered  in  five  communities  not  one  of 
which  was  in  existence  four  years  ago.  They  are  uncared  for  by 
either  Catholic  or  evangelical  churches.  In  behalf  of  the  Protestant 
churches  at  the  trade  center,  it  is  calmly  stated  that  they  are  doing 
nothing  in  these  communities  “because  of  the  foreign  population.” 
An  examination  of  church  work  in  all  these  counties,  where  the 
foreign  problem  is  present,  is  equally  disappointing. 

In  one  county,  a  church  has  started  a  small  class  for  the  foreign¬ 
speaking  people;  eight  churches  report  from  two  to  ten  foreign 

151 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


children  in  their  Sunday  schools ;  two  others  in  the  same  community 
state  that  they  try  to  interest  the  foreigners  chiefly  by  distributing 
tracts.  Another  church  is  bringing  children  of  foreigners  into  the 
Daily  Vacation  Bible  School.  In  one  rural  industrial  community, 
made  up  of  six  coal  mining  neighborhoods,  one  denomination  has 
two  resident  women  workers  who  carry  on  a  kindergarten  seven  and 
a  half  months  of  the  year  and  supervise  two  Sunday  schools.  There 
is  an  Americanization  class  of  six  mothers.  The  church  organization, 
however,  has  enrolled,  thus  far,  only  twenty-eight  native-born ;  and 
the  pastor  gives  what  time  he  can  spare  from  an  important  church 
in  the  nearest  city. 

But  such  examples  as  these  of  an  aroused  conscience  are  few ; 
and  the  problem  of  the  unchurched  foreign-born  in  rural  areas  will 
remain  grave  and  unsolved  until  the  cumulative  effects  of  wide¬ 
spread  efforts  are  felt.  It  is  only  when  a  situation  is  unusual  and 
makes  a  romantic  appeal  that  we  find  anything  like  modern  work ; 
and  even  this  is  inadequate.  In  California,  for  instance,  there  is  a 
reasonably  earnest  attempt  to  reach  the  untouched  Mexican  popula¬ 
tion,  and  an  equally  earnest,  if  less  effectual,  effort  to  minister  to 
the  Japanese.2 


“Land  Wherein  Thou  Art  a  Stranger” 

So  disappointing  were  the  records  from  the  representative  coun¬ 
ties  which  formed  the  basis  for  this  series  of  studies,  that  an  addi¬ 
tional  investigation  was  undertaken.  Sixteen  counties  were  se¬ 
lected  from  the  500  or  600  in  the  files  of  the  Interchurch  World 
Movement  which  had  the  highest  proportion  of  non-English-speaking 
foreigners.  The  results  of  this  study  have  already  been  published.3 
In  only  one  of  these  counties  is  any  church  reaching  as  many  as  50 
per  cent,  of  the  foreign-born  population.  In  that  particular  county 
the  number  of  new  Americans  increased  from  1,000  in  1870  to  8,000 
in  1920. 

In  four  of  the  sixteen  counties,  nothing  at  all  is  being  done  by 
the  churches.  In  a  mountain  county  of  Kentucky  there  are  545 
non-English-speaking  foreigners,  not  one  of  whom  has  been  reached 
by  the  churches.  The  county’s  coal  mines  have  attracted  57  Hun¬ 
garians,  194  Italians,  84  Greeks,  100  Slavs,  100  Poles,  10  Mexicans. 
These  people  are  domiciled  in  the  parishes  of  seven  churches ;  but 

2  See  the  committee’s  publication,  “Irrigation  and  Religion,”  Chapters  9 
and  10. 

3  The  Christian  Work,  November  27,  1920. 

152 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  AND  RACIAL  GROUPS 


no  real  effort  has  been  made  to  win  them.  In  a  western  county, 
which  is  underchurched,  1,598  foreign-born  are  so  situated  that 
either  there  is  no  church  in  a  community  or  the  churches  there  do 
not  reach  far  enough  geographically  to  include  the  foreign-born  in 
their  parishes.  Here  the  need  is  for  more  men  and  more  churches, 
that  the  ministry  to  the  new  people  can  be  planned. 

Not  always  is  the  problem  complicated  by  underchurching.  In 
one  county  there  is  a  foreign  population  of  2,240,  and  there  are 
sixty-six  churches  for  a  total  of  14,453  people.  Surely  these  should 
be  enough  to  care  for  the  foreigners.  But  the  county  is  one  in  which 
the  religious  situation  is  deplorable  through  multiplicity  of  churches 
and  a  non-resident  ministry.  In  nine  of  the  sixteen  counties,  the 
churches  have  made  beginnings  in  Americanization.  The  total  of 
non-English-speaking  people  in  these  counties  is  16,419.  Some  are 
in  areas  which  are  sufficiently  churched  or  are  overchurched,  and 
some  are  in  underchurched  regions.  In  four  of  the  underchurched 
counties  the  ministers  have  been  trying  to  handle  a  task  which  is  too 
big  for  them ;  and  reenforcements  are  needed  to  take  advantage  of 
the  opportunities  which  lie  among  the  groups  of  “new  Americans.” 

In  all  these  counties  the  country  churches  of  the  older  Ameri¬ 
cans  are  about  the  average  in  membership  and  equipment.  Their 
seating  capacity  is  ample  to  make  room  for  all  the  foreigners.  In 
five  of  these  nine  counties  a  continuation  of  the  present  methods  of 
work  should  yield  results.  Despite  all  the  handicaps  which  exist, 
fifty-three  churches  have  won  as  members  a  total  of  471  of  the 
new  Americans  in  their  communities. 

“I  Have  Gone  the  Way  the  Lord  Sent  Me” 

A  Protestant  Episcopal  mission  has  won  success  among  the 
Italians  of  Wind  Gap,  Pa.  Its  congregation  last  year  contributed 
$100  for  benevolences  and  missions.  The  method  of  approach  was 
through  a  friendly,  social  and  educational  program,  with  classes, 
socials  and  community  service,  and  it  has  led  to  the  acceptance  of 
Jesus  Christ  by  125  members  of  this  thriving  mission,  which  may  be 
taken  as  a  type  of  several  that  are  successful  in  providing  a  church 
for  these  people.  It  is  felt  by  the  leaders  in  such  church  enterprises 
that  the  newly  arrived  foreigner  is  too  new  to  mingle  quickly  and 
freely  in  the  church  life  of  the  community.  It  is  suggested  that 
he  would  do  better  in  a  church  of  his  own  race  until  he  understands 
Protestantism  more  thoroughly. 

The  other  type  of  church  that  works  successfully  with  the  New 

153 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


American  has  taken  him  directly  into  the  church  life  of  the  com¬ 
munity.  Judging  by  numbers  only,  this  is  the  slower  way,  though 
many  think  the  surer.  It  is  certainly  less  expensive,  as  it  does  not 
call  for  any  new  organization  or  for  another  salaried  worker.  Such 
churches  report  from  a  few  up  to  twenty-five  foreigners  among  their 
numbers.  The  methods  vary.  Some  churches  have  succeeded 
through  constant  visitation,  good  fellowship  and  social  recognition. 
The  members  have  been  careful,  as  church  members  and  Christians, 
to  show  no  discrimination  in  the  routine  of  daily  life.  In  one  place 
the  minister  went  out  and  picked  berries  with  the  foreigners,  estab¬ 
lishing  the  point  of  contact  by  his  sympathetic  helpfulness.  Other 
pastors  have  helped  the  newcomers  in  their  farming.  One  minister 
showed  his  sincerity,  when  timid  foreigners  would  not  come  to 
church,  by  holding  services  in  their  homes.  Another  pastor  has 
found  his  work  for  better  housing  and  better  health  conditions  an 
open  sesame  to  the  hearts  of  the  New  Americans  in  his  parish. 

Some  churches  opened  their  doors  to  the  foreign-born  for  serv¬ 
ices  of  their  own,  or  organized  special  Bible  Schools  for  their  chil¬ 
dren.  In  one  way  or  another,  community  service  has  been  success¬ 
fully  used.  This  has  included  a  variety  of  things  besides  the  work 
already  mentioned.  Classes  in  English  have  been  formed.  Special 
literature  has  been  distributed  and  found  most  helpful  as  an  enter¬ 
ing  wedge.  The  foreign  mother  who  can  read  is  especially  grateful, 
for  leaflets  from  the  Children’s  Bureau  of  the  Federal  Government 
dealing  with  the  care  of  children.  Games  for  the  younger  children, 
athletics  for  boys  and  young  men,  have  helped.  The  boy  and  girl 
scout  programs  under  church  auspices  are  most  useful.  Efforts 
spelling  neighborliness,  human  interest  and  kindness  have  opened 
the  heart  of  the  New  American  to  receive  the  message  of  the  Church. 

Methods  such  as  these  have  helped  in  the  work  among  the  Mexi¬ 
cans  in  Southern  California,  which  brought  success  after  persistent 
effort  covering  a  period  of  several  years.  This  example  of  high  pur¬ 
pose  and  sustained  effort  is  one  to  be  generally  followed.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  program  of  worship  and  religious  education  among  the 
Mexicans,  these  churches  conduct  classes  in  English,  music  and  sew¬ 
ing,  and  well-organized  clubs  in  which  social  and  recreational  work 
is  done  during  the' week. 

Corporate  Responsibilities 

Regarding  what  ought  to  be  done  in  the  situation,  it  seems  evident 
that  national  boards  and  committees  existing  for  the  purpose  of  deal- 

154 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  AND  RACIAL  GROUPS 


ing  with  the  New  American  must  pay  more  attention  to  the  problem 
presented  in  rural  areas.  Hitherto  these  organizations  have  rightly 
studied  the  urban  problem,  the  crowding  and  concentration  in  col¬ 
onies  that  so  urgently  press  for  consideration.  But  the  rural  phase 
is  quite  as  important,  and  far  more  rewarding,  because  of  the  static 
condition  of  New  Americans  definitely  wedded  by  ownership  to 
locale  or  community. 

Then,  too,  individual  churches  must  take  advantage  of  the  op¬ 
portunity  afforded  them  by  the  presence  of  newcomers  within  the 
reach  of  their  influence.  A  church  to  which  the  opportunity  is 
presented  must  do  this  or  be  justly  criticized  for  having  become  a 
class  church.  Either  Christian  democracy  is  broad  enough  for  all 
races  or  it  is  a  failure. 

Finally,  the  local  churches  should  discover  New  Americans,  and 
should  be  particularly  alert  to  form  contacts  with  the  very  earliest 
arrivals  of  a  given  group,  since  the  relations  established  with  them 
are  rewarding  for  two  reasons :  because  they  are  more  susceptible 
and  open  to  advances  in  their  first  contacts,  and  because  they  will 
be  perhaps  of  controlling  influence  among  those  of  their  kind  who 
follow. 

The  newcomers  will  be  made  to  feel  that  they  are  welcome ;  and 
instead  of  being  forced  to  remain  a  people  apart  because  of  their 
nationality,  will  find  the  process  of  becoming  Americans  quickened 
and  made  easier.  This  will  call  for  the  best  that  a  church  and  its 
community  can  offer. 


Chapter  Summary 

One-third  of  our  New  Americans  are  in  rural  communities. 

In  some  states  every  other  farmer  is  of  foreign  birth. 

Churches  of  the  foreign-language  group  tend  to  be  considerably 
larger  than  those  of  older  American  tradition.  Their  budgets,  too, 
are  larger,  but  their  per  capita  contributions  are  slightly  lower. 

The  Protestant  and  Catholic  country  churches  together  have 
reached  only  one-half  of  the  New  Americans. 

The  Protestant  Church  too  often  feels  no  responsibility  for  the 
New  American  and  deliberately  avoids  him. 

There  is  a  language  of  kindly  sympathy  and  practical  service 
which  the  New  American  understands  and  to  which  he  responds. 
Some  churches  are  proving  this. 

The  New  American  on  the  land  is  making  good;  but  the  Church 
has  not  made  good  with  the  New  American. 

155 


CHAPTER  X 


Tenant  and  Migrant 

A  T  one  time  the  farms  on  this  continent  were  virtually  all 
AA  owned  by  those  who  tilled  them.  That  day  has  passed.  We 
have  now,  in  large  numbers,  the  tenant  farmers  and  the  mi¬ 
grant  or  seasonal  laborers  as  well  as  the  regular  farmhands. 

The  last  decade  has  deepened  the  general  conviction  that  an  in¬ 
creasing  proportion  of  tenants  in  any  given  farm  population  under 
the  conditions  usually  prevailing  is  likely  to  prove  detrimental  to 
the  social  and  religious  life  of  the  community.  The  tenant  and  the 
farmer  who  owns  the  land  he  tills  work  under  entirely  different 
conditions.  From  the  time  a  tenant  assumes  charge  of  its  operation, 
a  farm  must  support,  in  part  at  least,  another  family  besides  his 
own.  This  means  increased  labor  on  the  part  of  the  operator.  To 
make  matters  worse,  the  average  tenant  in  America  operates  under 
a  one-year  lease,  and  has  no  means  of  knowing  how  long  he  will 
remain  on  any  given  farm.  Thirty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  farms  in 
the  United  States  are  now  tenant  operated.  This  leads  the  tenant 
to  adopt  farming  methods  that  will  let  him  take  as  much  as  possible 
from  the  land  in  a  short  time  rather  than  methods  intended  to  pro¬ 
duce  the  best  possible  yield  over  a  period  of  -years.  It  complicates 
and  unsettles  his  social  relations  with  the  community,  of  which  he 
does  not  feel  himself  to  be  a  part.  He  is  not  as  interested  in  its 
development  as  would  be  the  case  if  he  had  a  stake  in  the  land 
itself. 

Leaders  in  the  rural  movement  have  been  calling  attention  for 
some  time  to  the  possibility  that  the  local  church  may  bridge  this 
gap  between  the  tenant  and  the  community,  and  may  aid  conspicu¬ 
ously  in  removing  much  of  the  menace  of  the  tenant  problem.  What 
then  is  the  situation?  In  the  first  place  the  data  here  presented  in¬ 
dicate  no  more  than  a  general  tendency.  In  some  of  the  richest 
farming  regions  in  America  are  found  strong  churches  largely  sup¬ 
ported  by  tenant  farmers.  Every  officer  in  several  of  the  strongest 
corn-belt  churches  of  one  denomination  is  a  tenant  farmer.  Fre¬ 
quently,  too,  in  these  communities,  there  are  consolidated  schools. 
The  most  cordial  relations  exist  between  owners  and  tenants,  often 

156 


TENANT  AND  MIGRANT 


relationships  cemented  by  family  ties.  In  many  cases  the  relations 
are  so  satisfactory  that  there  is  an  expectation  of  uninterrupted 
tenure  on  the  farm  for  a  considerable  period  of  years. 

It  should  be  stated  that  until  the  number  of  tenant  farmers  ex¬ 
ceeds  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  operating  farmers,  the 
Church  seems  to  reach  both  economic  groups  with  equal  facility. 
This  is  true  apparently  without  exception.  When,  however,  the 
percentage  of  tenancy  is  above  this  figure  and  particularly  when  it 
exceeds  33  per  cent.,  there  is  a  change  in  conditions.1  Thus,  in 
Sedgwick  County,  Kansas,  and  Clay  County,  Iowa,  where  the  num¬ 
ber  of  tenant  farmers  is  56  per  cent,  and  52  per  cent,  respectively 
of  the  total  number  of  farm  operators,  the  number  of  tenants  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  total  farm-operator  membership  of  the  churches  is 
only  18  per  cent,  and  21  per  cent.  Similar  figures  obtain  in  such 
counties  as  Salem,  New  Jersey,  Hugh,  South  Dakota,  and  certain 
others,  especially  in  large  parts  of  the  South.2 

The  Farm  Laborer 

The  hired  man  on  the  farm  has  been  a  historic  figure  in  Ameri¬ 
can  rural  life.  But  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  has  all  but 
departed  that  life.  City  wages  attracted  him  to  the  larger  centers  of 
population.  Subsequently  farm  incomes  dropped  to  such  a  point 
that  the  smaller  operator  could  get  on  without  a  hired  man.  Un¬ 
fortunately,  the  number  of  farm  laborers  in  the  total  farming  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  counties  studied  is  so  small  as  not  to  warrant  the  draw¬ 
ing  of  deductions.  A  statistical  summary  is  of  such  a  meager  nature 
that  it  would  not  be  fair  to  base  upon  it  an  assertion  that  the  Church 
had  failed  to  reach  the  hired  man  on  the  farm,  although  this  asser¬ 
tion  has  often  been  made,  perhaps  with  considerable  justification. 

The  Migrant  Worker 

American  agriculture  depends,  much  more  than  most  people  are 
aware,  upon  the  labor  of  migrant  workers  who  travel  back  and  forth 
across  America  with  the  seasons,  following  one  crop  or  another. 
Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  the  wheat  harvest,  all  the  laborers  are 
men.  In  the  sugar  beet  fields,  the  canneries  and  the  cranberry 
swamps,  whole  families  are  often  employed.  A  million  and  a  half 
is  the  strength  of  this  unorganized,  unskilled,  uncared-for  migrant 

1  See  Tables  XI  and  XII  in  Chapter  III. 

2  See  Prof.  E.  C.  Branson’s  study,  “The  Church  and  Landless  Men.” 

157 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


army.  These  workers  are  in  any  particular  community  for  only  a 
brief  period  of  from  ten  days  to  six  or  eight  weeks,  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  crop  to  be  harvested.  They  present  to  the  Church 
a  great  opportunity  which  has  been  unperceived  or  ignored  in  all 
these  counties.  The  counties  covered  by  the  Interchurch  World 
Movement  study,  for  example,  gave  only  two  or  three  instances  of 
any  service  for  the  migrant. 

In  one  outstanding  case,  the  Methodist  Circuit  at  Larned,  Kansas, 
is  setting  an  example  for  the  rest  of  the  churches  of  the  Kansas 
wheat  belt.  When  the  migrant  harvesters  arrive  at  the  county  seat 
town,  they  find  awaiting  them  a  dormitory  and  welfare  room  with 
facilities  for  writing  and  reading  and  resting.  In  the  welfare  room 
at  the  court  house,  concerts  are  held  frequently ;  and  on  Sundays  a 
service  is  conducted  in  the  church  by  the  pastor  and  the  combined 
choirs  of  his  circuit.  These  community  attentions  are  deeply  ap¬ 
preciated.  The  Larned  ministers  ascertain  the  names  of  the  men 
and  where  they  are  working,  and  immediately  mail  to  them  invita¬ 
tions  to  attend  the  services  to  be  held  during  their  stay.  The  farmer 
employers  cooperate  with  the  churches  in  making  it  possible  for  the 
men  to  attend  both  the  services  and  the  entertainments.  The  town 
has  voted  to  close  its  stores  on  Sundays.  Larned  has  eliminated  the 
difficulties  that  ordinarily  attend  the  sudden  concentration  of  a  large 
number  of  men  in  a  small  town  and  country  community.  More¬ 
over,  its  friendly  attitude  attracts  a  better  class  of  labor  to  the  town. 

In  Harford  County,  Maryland,  another  significant  enterprise 
has  been  initiated  by  an  enlightened  cannery  owner  in  cooperation 
with  several  of  the  Women's  Boards  of  Home  Missions.  Here 
entire  families  come.  The  cannery  proprietor  has  set  aside  a  build¬ 
ing  which  contains  a  nursery  and  dispensary,  a  domestic  science  and 
lunch  room,  and  a  big  porch.  Babies  are  cared  for  during  working 
hours  by  a  trained  nurse,  who  also  administers  first  aid  in  case  of 
accident.  Two  other  workers  conduct  a  school  which  includes  re¬ 
ligious  exercises,  Bible  stories,  elementary  school  subjects  and  sing¬ 
ing.  At  noon  a  domestic  science  worker  prepares  a  hot  lunch  and 
uses  the  opportunity  to  teach  the  little  girls  something  about  cooking. 

There  is  organized  play  on  the  porch,  in  the  neighboring  woods, 
and  on  the  playground  which  has  been  equipped  with  simple  ap¬ 
paratus.  After  working  hours  there  are  classes  for  the  larger  boys 
and  girls  in  English,  arithmetic,  cooking  and  sewing.  There  are 
occasional  evening  entertainments  for  the  whole  colony.  This  shows 
what  has  been  done  by  churches  in  communities  visited  by  the 
migrants  upon  whose  labor  the  communities  depend  for  all  the  profits 

1 58 


TENANT  AND  MIGRANT 


of  the  year.  The  human  interest  is  reciprocal.  The  migrants  prefer 
the  places  where  they  are  made  at  home,  and  the  communities  with 
this  vision  of  social  and  religious  service  attract  efficient  and  trust¬ 
worthy  laborers. 

The  situation  probably  calls  for  national  consideration.  A  mobile 
staff  of  workers  ought  to  follow  harvests  north  through  the  summer, 
much  as  the  welfare  workers  in  France  followed  the  movements 
of  the  troops.  With  such  a  staff  local  cooperation  would  be  very 
much  more  effective.  But  Larned,  Kansas,  has  proved  that  assist¬ 
ance  from  outside,  such  as  prevails  in  Harford  County,  is  not  a 
necessity. 


Chapter  Summary 

Farm  tenancy  in  the  United  States  has  been  steadily  increasing, 
especially  in  the  more  favored  agricultural  areas. 

The  Church  reaches  the  owner  and  the  tenant  farmer  with  equal 
success  until  the  proportion  of  tenant-operated  farms  rises  above 
one-fifth. 

Many  an  important  crop,  and  the  prosperity  of  hundreds  of  com¬ 
munities,  would  be  ruined  without  the  annual  help  of  the  migrant 
worker. 

Neglect  of  the  social  and  religious  welfare  of  these  workers  by 
the  Church  is  all  but  universal.  Where  the  ministry  has  been  ex¬ 
tended,  it  has  been  deeply  appreciated.  Such  welfare  work  as  is 
done  ought  to  be  greatly  extended. 


159 


CHAPTER  XI 


The  Rural  Church  Program 


THE  country  church  may  be  said  to  maintain  an  organization 
on  a  minimum  program  of  twelve  preaching  services  a  year. 
In  other  words,  there  are  churches  still  active  though  they 
are  closed  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  time ;  they  have  no  Sunday 
schools,  no  women’s  societies,  nor  any  other  organizations ;  nor  do 
they  have  regular  pastors.  They  form  the  minimum  group,  just 
above  which  are  churches  that  may  be  said  to  have  the  average  or 
usual  type  of  program.  This  program  provides  for  from  two  to 
eight  services  of  worship  a  month,  for  a  Sunday  school  and  a 
women’s  missionary  society,  but  for  little  or  nothing  else.  Three 
churches  out  of  five  in  rural  America  are  content  to  remain  within 
one  or  the  other  of  these  groups. 

These  are  the  churches  that  still  live  in  the  tradition  of  the  country 
church  of  the  pioneer  days,  or  at  best  of  the  church  that  immediately 
succeeded  the  pioneer  period,  both  of  which  ministered  to  groups  of 
families  who  had  settled  on  land  they  expected  to  cultivate  and  to 
own  forever.  It  is  this  type  of  church  that  has  been  completely  out¬ 
distanced  in  the  tremendous  developments  of  the  last  thirty  years. 
These  three  decades  have  seen,  in  rural  America,  the  greatest  social 
dissolutions  and  integrations  of  any  period  in  history. 


Nothing  New  Under  the  Sun 

Any  country  pastor  of  insight  and  experience  can  bear  witness 
to  the  truth  of  this.  Never  before  has  the  disintegration  of  rural  life 
been  so  apparent  as  it  is  to-day.  Despite  all  the  splendid  work  that 
has  been  done  in  drawing  together  town  and  country  into  a  com¬ 
posite  well-organized  whole,  there  is  in  certain  areas  a  well-marked 
cleavage  between  these  two  parts  of  the  rural  community.  In  the 
more  conservative  farming  regions,  the  breach  between  the  older 
and  the  younger  generation  is  steadily  widening.  In  every  interest, 
economic,  political,  legislative  and  even  social,  restless  leaders  are 
eagerly  searching  for  new  trails  to  progress  and  improvement. 

Meanwhile,  three  out  of  every  five  churches  are  heedless  of  the 

160 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  PROGRAM 


cross-currents  that  sweep  past  steadily,  undermining  their  very  exist¬ 
ence.  They  are  still  making  programs  in  the  conviction  that  “there 
is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.”  They  have  entirely  lost  the  full 
significance  of  the  Master’s  declaration  that  He  had  unspoken 
thoughts  into  which  His  followers  and  their  Church  must  be  led  in 
the  centuries  that  stretched  ahead  of  Him.  To  maintain  a  high 
order  of  leadership  and  of  service,  a  church  must  be  alert  and  ready 
to  adapt  its  program  to  the  changing  conditions  of  those  to  whom  it 
ministers.  If  this,  then,  is  a  legitimate  spiritual  ideal  for  the  Church, 
what  has  been  done  toward  reaching  out  and  relating  the  gospel  to 
those  many  groups  with  which  the  Church  has  to  deal?  Around 
each  group,  whether  of  boys  or  girls,  of  young  people,  or  of  men 
and  women,  cluster  a  variety  of  problems  related  to  the  present  day 
and  involving  the  Church  in  economic  and  social,  no  less  than  in  its 
religious,  obligations. 

One  of  the  first  rural  awakenings  was  evidenced  by  the  extension 
of  women’s  work  in  country  churches.  This  step  was  followed  by 
the  young  people’s  movement.  Founded  within  the  memory  of  men 
still  young,  this  great  movement  swept  the  youth  in  the  population 
centers  of  America  with  an  enthusiasm  that  had  never  before  been 
equaled.  Rare  is  the  city  church  that  does  not  enlist  the  loyalty  and 
support  of  its  young  people.  While  an  organization  with  this  ob¬ 
jective  is  properly  an  activity  in  the  field  of  religious  education,  it 
is  also  a  social  organization  built  on  the  idea  that  the  Church  ought 
to  furnish  an  avenue  for  young  Christians  of  both  sexes  to  discuss 
problems  of  mutual  concern,  to  cooperate  in  definite  service,  and  to 
enjoy  wholesome  pleasures.  The  rural  young  people’s  societies  are 
almost  entirely  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  type. 

Young  People’s  Organizations 

They  are  known  in  the  different  denominations  by  such  names  as 
the  Epworth  League,  the  Baptist  Young  People’s  Union,  the  Luther 
League,  and  the  like.  The  programs  of  these  societies  engage  the 
activities  of  not  only  the  young  people  of  college  age  and  those  still 
older,  but  also  the  adolescents  and  the  children  who  are  organized 
into  so-called  intermediate  and  junior  societies.  Only  35  per  cent, 
of  the  churches  considered  in  this  study  have  such  societies.  In 
other  words,  they  are  found  in  368  churches,  which  have  a  total  of 
500  organizations.  Three-fourths  of  these  are  for  the  young  people 
and  one-fourth  for  boys  and  girls. 

It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  distribution  of  these  societies.  On 

161 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


the  Pacific  Coast  every  other  church  has  at  least  one  such  organiza¬ 
tion  ;  and  the  Range  states,  despite  the  great  distances  which  separate 
the  people,  are  only  12  per  cent,  behind  the  record  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  states.  In  the  Middle  West  and  Colonial  areas  37  and  35  per 
cent,  of  the  churches  respectively  have  young  people’s  programs  of 
this  kind.  In  the  South  the  ratio  falls  to  slightly  less  than  one 
church  out  of  every  five.  As  between  town,  village  and  country,  the 
town  churches  seem  to  give  most  attention  to  this  work,  three  out 
of  every  four  churches  having  a  young  people’s  society.  In  the 
village  slightly  less  than  half  the  churches,  and  in  the  country  only 
one  out  of  every  five,  have  so  organized  their  young  people. 

In  fact,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  young  people’s  movement  in 
America  to-day  has  accomplished  less  in  the  countryside  than  any¬ 
where  else.  Forty  or  more  full-fledged  church  members  under 
twenty-one  years  of  age  were  found  in  each  of  about  one  hundred 
country  churches,  not  one  of  which  had  a  young  people’s  organiza¬ 
tion  of  any  kind,  if  we  exclude  unorganized  Sunday  school  classes. 
In  a  score  of  these  churches  the  members  under  twenty-one  years 
of  age  ranged  in  number  from  seventy-five  to  150.  With  a  common 
realization  of  the  young  people’s  problem  as  existing  in  a  post-war 
world,  with  its  confused  domestic  and  social  values,  it  is  unfortunate 
that  there  are  churches  that  make  so  indifferent  an  effort  to  enlist 
the  vigor  and  enthusiasm  of  their  young  members.  The  need  for 
effective  young  people’s  organizations  was  never  greater  than  it  is 
to-day ;  it  is  through  them  that  the  leaders  of  to-morrow  may  be 
developed  for  Christian  service. 

The  program  of  the  average  society  ought  to  be  full  of  engaging 
activities.  Instead  it  provides  merely  for  a  weekly  meeting  of  wor¬ 
ship  and  devotion  with  a  centering  of  interest  upon  a  topic  determined 
by  the  overhead  organization.  Often  the  minister  is  not  present. 
In  a  few  cases  organizations  of  some  vitality  have  been  found  which 
were  formed  years  ago,  and  which  are  still  controlled  by  the  charter 
members.  In  these  cases,  however,  a  generation  has  intervened  and 
the  founders  have  been  unable  to  bridge  the  gap  between  their  gen¬ 
eration  and  the  one  which  now  ought  to  have  the  benefit  of  organized 
young  people’s  work.  Of  course  many  of  these  societies  have  their 
social  activities ;  but  in  few  instances  are  their  members  mobilized 
under  a  program  that  evokes  their  enthusiasm  for  effective  social 
and  religious  service  to  the  church  and  the  community.  The  mission 
study  classes  have  been  organized  in  a  few  instances,  and  in  the 
more  efficient  societies  the  program  of  the  national  organizations  has 
been  followed  with  local  adaptations. 

162 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  PROGRAM 


Wanted:  a  Policy 

These  activities,  few  and  often  perfunctory,  are  valuable  as  open¬ 
ing  the  way  for  more  effective  programs.  It  is  clear,  however,  that 
no  effort  has  been  made  to  organize  these  activities  and  to  link  them 
for  larger  service  and  for  the  strategic  purpose  of  corporate  and 
functional  strength.  For  instance,  an  intimate,  clearly  defined  rela¬ 
tionship  should  exist  between  the  young  people’s  society  and  the 
Sunday  school.  The  latter  should  feed  the  more  potential  society. 
The  promotional  literature  of  both  the  State  Sunday  School  Associa¬ 
tions  and  the  State  Christian  Endeavor  Unions  advocates  very  much 
the  same  type  of  work.  Too  often,  even  when  a  church  has  both  a 
Sunday  school  and  young  people’s  societies,  these  function  more  on 
account  of  habit  or  in  deference  to  custom  than  as  strategic  organiza¬ 
tions  in  a  coordinated  church  program.  The  value  of  the  young 
people’s  society  as  a  training  school  in  service  and  as  an  avenue 
for  self-expression  under  proper  guidance  can  hardly  be  over¬ 
estimated. 

In  the  country  these  young  people’s  organizations  are  uncommon ; 
and  it  is  here  that  they  make,  wherever  they  do  exist,  the  strongest 
appeal  to  the  young  people.  The  average  attendance  of  young  peo¬ 
ple’s  societies  in  country  churches  is  78  per  cent,  of  the  enrollment ; 
in  the  village  it  is  a  scant  two-thirds ;  and  in  the  towns  it  is  62  per 
cent.  In  all  three  types  of  communities  these  voluntary  organiza¬ 
tions,  where  they  exist,  draw  at  least  as  well  as  the  supervised  Sunday 
schools.  The  attendance  record  in  the  country,  where  there  are  the 
fewest  young  people’s  societies,  is  phenomenal.  This  is  probably 
because  they  bulk  larger  in  the  life  of  the  rural  community  than  in 
the  life  of  the  town  or  the  village. 

This  fact  points  to  two  things.  The  young  people’s  movement 
should  be  greatly  extended  in  the  countryside  where  it  is  so  much 
appreciated.  The  societies  in  village  and  town  should  be  made  to 
function  to  their  utmost  capacity.  It  is  also  clear  that  they  need 
proper  correlation  with  the  other  avenues  of  religious  education  and 
community  service  which  are  at  the  command  of  the  churches  in 
the  larger  centers. 

* 

“When  Thou  Wast  Young  Thou  Girdest  Thyself” 

The  Young  People’s  Societies  provide  the  most  effective  means 
by  which  the  Church  in  town  and  country  can  enlist  the  loyalty, 
energy  and  enthusiasm  of  its  youth.  They  serve  to  test  those  quali- 

163 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


ties  of  potential  leadership  first  developed  in  the  Sunday  school ; 
and  form  the  continuing  bond  between  the  Sunday  school  and  the 
Church.  In  every  region  churches  with  young  people’s  societies  have 
a  larger  proportion  of  minors  in  their  membership  than  those 
churches  without  these  organizations,  the  respective  figures  being  28 
per  cent,  and  24  per  cent.  Moreover,  in  the  important  matter  of 
annual  accession,  the  churches  with  young  people’s  societies  make  a 
record  per  church  29  per  cent,  better  than  the  record  of  those  without 
such  societies. 

In  the  course  of  this  study  a  few  outstandingly  successful  young 
people’s  societies  came  to  light  in  these  counties,  and  their  success 
makes  them  stimulating  examples.  Their  success,  however,  is  due 
to  elaborate  organizations ;  each  age-group  and  each  sex-group  is 
provided  for  in  an  organization  that  has  its  place  in  a  carefully 
devised  scheme  for  the  coordination  of  activities.  In  this  way  the 
problems  of  adolescence  are  met  in  a  way  to  insure  health  of  body 
and  of  mind.  In  one  church,  where  there  are  young  people’s  inter¬ 
mediate  and  junior  societies  which  hold  regular  meetings,  there  are 
also  clubs  for  the  boys  and  the  girls  of  the  intermediate  and  junior 
societies  which  provide  activities  suited  to  age  and  sex.  That  church 
is  rewarded,  among  other  ways,  by  a  greater  individual,  as  well  as 
corporate,  appreciation  of  the  joint  religious  and  social  events.  That 
kind  of  organization  naturally  calls  for  simple  equipment.  In  this 
church  a  very  useful  part  of  its  equipment  is  a  “hut”  16'x24',  built 
by  the  boys  themselves,  in  which  there  are  bookshelves,  reading- 
tables,  and  games.  The  church  also  owns  a  basket-ball  court.  In 
the  “hut”  lessons  are  studied,  and  conferences  and  socials  are  held 
under  the  supervision  of  church  leaders.  Both  the  Boy  Scouts  and 
the  Girl  Scouts  have  the  exclusive  use  of  the  cabin  during  specified 
periods. 

These  organizations  for  the  rising  generation  are  the  outward 
or  visible  signs  of  the  Church’s  interest  in  the  inward  or  spiritual 
life  of  its  young  people.  Most  of  the  casualties  in  church  member¬ 
ship  occur  between  the  ages  of  eleven  and  fifteen.  These  are  the 
well-recognized  crucial  years.  To  win  boys  and  girls  in  the  adolescent 
stage,  the  Church  must  adapt  its  message  to  the  thoughts  and  feel¬ 
ings  that  dominate  their  awakening  minds.  The  hour-a-week  reli¬ 
gious  education  is  not  sufficient  to  capture  and  hold  the  adolescent. 
At  this  time  both  mind  and  body  are  restless ;  and  there  is  an  in¬ 
quisitive,  adventurous  interest  concerning  the  mysteries  of  life. 
Anything  that  is  fit  for  the  life  of  the  community  may  properly 
come  within  the  purview  of  the  Church.  And  by  none,  perhaps,  is 

164 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

this  truth  accepted  more  unquestioningly  than  by  the  adolescent  boy 
and  girl. 

As  the  Twig  Is  Bent 

These  facts  are  the  daily  concern  of  our  educational  system, 
reputed  to  be  the  finest  in  the  world ;  and  they  are,  or  should  be, 
matters  of  common  knowledge.  And  yet  only  thirty-nine  of  the 
1,047  churches  upon  which  this  study  is  based,  have  boys’  organiza¬ 
tions,  while  fifty-six  care  for  their  girls. 

Compared  with  the  results  achieved  among  these  tender-age 
groups  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  by  Y.  W.  C.  A.  in  dealing  with  girls, 
what  the  Church  has  accomplished  along  similar  lines  appears  in¬ 
significant  and  perfunctory. 

Where  the  Church  has  cultivated  its  youth  it  has  gleaned  a  larger 
harvest  of  life-service  recruits.  The  interest  of  the  rising  generation 
also  holds  the  parents ;  and  of  all  the  thousand  churches  only  those 
with  organizations  for  boys  and  girls  are  found  invariably  to  have 
the  richest  programs,  and  the  strongest  grip  upon  their  communi¬ 
ties.  Almost  all  of  the  churches  with  those  organizations  rate  70 
per  cent,  better  on  the  Par  Standard  1  for  country  churches  than  do 
the  others. 

The  causes  of  failure  are  too  often  the  same.  The  average 
church  provides  a  program  that  ignores  the  yearnings  and  ardors  of 
youth.  The  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Jewish  communions  have  more 
to  teach  Protestant  bodies  in  this  field  than  in  any  other.2 

In  the  non-religious  field,  boys  and  girls  have  been  quite  as  much 
neglected.  There  are  in  the  communities  studied  in  this  survey, 
about  thirty  boys’  and  girls’  organizations  which  are  not  under 
church  auspices,  while  there  are  655  organizations  for  the  men  and 
nearly  300  for  women.  In  other  words,  these  communities,  in  their 
organizations  consider  almost  exclusively  the  social  longings  of  the 
adults  and  give  no  thought  to  the  social  longings  of  age-  and  sex- 
groups  to  whom  the  phenomena  of  life  are  just  unfolding.  This 
chapter  of  the  study  is  the  most  pathetic ;  and  no  great  imagination 
is  needed  to  sense  its  poignant  implications.  These  clearly  involve 
the  neglect  of  young  America  by  every  agency  for  spiritual  and 
intellectual  improvement  except  the  weekly  Sunday  school  of  the 
church  with  its  stereotyped  program,  and  the  formalized  education 
of  the  country  school. 

1  See  pages  169  ff. 

2  See  American  Volume,  World  Survey,  Interchurch  World  Movement, 
and  W.  S.  Athearn’s  “Indiana  Survey  of  Religious  Education." 

165 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Men’s  and  Women’s  Organizations 

Five  hundred  and  seventy-nine  churches,  or  about  55  per  cent,  of 
the  total,  have  735  women’s  organizations.  The  great  majority  of 
these  are  organized  for  the  sole  purpose  of  aiding  the  church.  Most 
of  the  remainder  are  missionary  societies.  The  program  is  rather 
stereotyped.  Only  occasionally  has  a  church  been  found  whose 
women’s  organization  has  departed  from  the  orthodox  program 
of  quilting  and  holding  bazaars  and  suppers.  In  one  of  these 
churches  the  women’s  organization,  in  addition  to  assistance  given 
to  the  church,  takes  an  active  part  in  the  problems  of  motherhood, 
in  the  school,  in  domestic  economy  and  other  practical  phases  of 
women’s  activity. 

For  instance,  this  particular  organization  never  allows  its  hostess 
to  choose  her  own  refreshments.  The  domestic  science  committee 
of  the  club  arranges  the  menu  to  show  the  value  of  some  particular 
food  and  how  it  should  be  prepared.  Another  women’s  organization 
sells  its  products  through  the  sister  organization  of  a  city  church, 
which  is  a  most  useful  type  of  cooperation.  There  are  more  than 
twice  as  many  channels  for  women’s  activities  within  the  churches 
as  there  are  without ;  but  it  is  surprising  to  find  that,  of  the  churches 
studied,  nearly  half  (47  per  cent.)  were  without  this  type  of  agency. 
It  is  the  smaller  open  country  churches,  especially  in  the  South,  that 
lack  the  women’s  organizations. 

Women  are,  however,  very  much  better  organized  than  are  the 
men.  Only  thirty-nine  churches  were  found  with  men’s  clubs  and 
twenty  of  these  were  in  the  Colonial  states.  Apparently  the  program 
of  the  rural  church  has  never  gripped  the  men  sufficiently  to  engage 
their  united  efforts  in  a  corporate  task.  Men’s  social  activities  seem 
to  be  limited  to  the  usual  lodges.  These  organizations,  however,  are 
found  more  frequently  in  the  villages,  though  there  are  many  in  the 
country  or  the  town;  and  they  are  apt  to  occur  in  clusters.  The 
villages  that  have  fraternal  orders  have  an  average  of  three  to  the 
village. 

To  the  tasks  included  under  the  term  community  service,  such 
as  law  enforcement,  bringing  the  standards  and  ideals  of  the  Church 
to  the  business  organizations  of  any  given  community,  acting  as  big 
brothers  to  the  growing  adolescents,  and  so  on  through  a  varied 
range  of  activities,  the  men  of  rural  churches  are  found  to  be  un¬ 
responsive.  They  appear  to  have  no  conception  of  these  challenging 
responsibilities.  This  is  a  deficiency  which  may  be  laid  to  the  system 
under  which  the  country  church  operates.  But  the  absence  of  such 

166 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  PROGRAM 


organizations  in  most  regions,  except  the  Pacific  and  the  Colonial, 
may  be  attributed  to  deeper  causes,  as  indicated  above.  Briefly,  the 
Church  fails  really  to  give  the  men  a  task  that  will  challenge  their 
constructive  abilities  and  hold  their  interest.  To  come  to  grips  with 
problems  in  the  modern  country  church  one  must  establish  a  contact 
with  the  social  and  economic  life  of  the  community.  Many  of  the 
successful  pastors  of  a  rural  church  are  found  to  be  identified  with 
such  activities  as  the  fraternal  orders,  the  Rotary  Club  at  the  county 
seat,  or  the  county  chamber  of  commerce,  where  their  presence  is  a 
power  for  good  and  an  indication  that  the  Church  is  an  intimate  part 
of  all  phases  of  community  life. 

Ideally,  perhaps,  the  needs  of  organization  for  age-  and  sex- 
groups  can  be  met  through  the  church  Sunday  school ;  and  there 
are  churches  that  utilize  this  medium.  But  the  experience  of  the 
survey  seems  to  show  that  to  do  this  a  church  must  have  a  greater 
than  the  ordinary  organization  within  the  school,  more  leaders  and 
a  more  flexible  program.  None  the  less  the  survey  data  bearing  on 
this  point  are  so  meager  that  it  is  not  possible  to  decide  whether  or 
not  the  Sunday  school  ought  to  be  the  only  agency  for  the  week-day 
program  of  the  church.  What  does  emerge,  however,  is  the  fact  that 
a  church  with  a  week-day  program  exerts  a  wider  influence,  shows 
a  better  organization,  consistent  contributions,  more  members,  a 
greater  range  of  growth,  and  more  life-work  recruits.  The  question 
of  the  character  and  scope  of  such  extra-ecclesiastical  activities,  of 
larger  community  service,  must  in  each  case  be  determined  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  local  situation. 

The  Time  Was  Ripe  for  a  Standard 

The  variations  in  program  and  equipment  are  so  many  that  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  time  had  arrived  for  some  basis  or  standard 
for  grading  a  church.  For  this  purpose  a  so-called  Par  Standard, 
worked  out  and  approved  by  the  Town  and  Country  Committee  of 
the  Home  Mission  Council,  and  developed  by  the  Interchurch  World 
Movement  has  been  used  in  these  studies.  This  Standard  has  been 
projected,  not  as  an  ideal,  but  as  a  measurable  example  of  what  the 
church  may,  in  all  reasonableness,  expect  to  attain.  In  its  critical 
application  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  comparative  value  to 
the  various  points  included.  They  are  by  no  means  of  equal  signifi¬ 
cance,  though  all  of  them  discuss  complete  equipment  and  programs. 
The  schedules  used  cover  only  twenty-three  of  the  thirty  points  listed 
in  this  Standard,  and  the  gradings  have  perforce  held  to  these 

167 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


twenty-three  points.  It  is  found,  however,  that  the  average  church 
has  a  grading  of  40  per  cent,  on  these  points.  The  Pacific  region  led 
all  the  others  by  a  rating  of  almost  50  per  cent.  The  Colonial  Area 
was  second  with  44.9  per  cent.,  the  Middle  West  third,  the  Range 
fourth,  and  the  South  fifth  in  the  national  rating. 

The  Standard  can  be  subdivided  into  such  topics  as  Physical 
Equipment,  the  Ministry,  Finance,  Religious  Education,  Service,  and 
Cooperation.  Under  these  heads  the  Pacific  Coast  again  either  makes 
the  highest  rating  in  each  division  or  equals  it,  except  that  it  is 
third  in  Finance.  For  the  country  as  a  whole  the  best  ratings  are 
made  in  Physical  Equipment  with  its  percentage  of  51.8,  and  in 
Finance  with  a  percentage  of  49.9.  The  Ministry  columns  shows  a 
total  of  43.1  per  cent.  Religious  Education  is  a  little  short  of  33.3 
per  cent.,  while  Service  and  Cooperation  is  a  bad  fifth  with  only  17.6 
per  cent,  of  the  possible  total  number  of  points. 

Eighteen  points  or  more  on  Par  denote  a  successful  church ;  and 
from  a  group  of  more  than  a  thousand  churches  considered  in  this 
study,  only  thirty  have  reached  that  figure.  Twenty  of  these  are  in 
the  villages,  eight  in  the  towns  and  two  in  the  country.  Several  of 
those  of  the  village  type,  strangely  enough,  are  found  in  very  small 
villages.  Only  one  church  was  discovered  with  as  many  as  twenty- 
two  of  the  twenty-three  possible  points.  The  appended  schedule 
gives,  at  a  glance,  the  basis  of  study  and  the  approach  to  the  problem. 


Par  Standard 


Adequate  Physical  Equipment 

Up-to-date  parsonage 

Adequate  church  auditorium 

Social  and  recreational  equipment 

Well-equipped  kitchen 

Organ  or  piano 

Sunday  school  rooms 

Stereopticon  or  moving-picture  machine 

Sanitary  toilets 

Horse  sheds  or  parking  space 

Property  in  good  repair 

Pastor 

Resident  pastor 
Full  time  pastor 
Service  every  Sunday 
Minimum  salary,  $1,200. 

Finance 

Church  budget  adopted  annually 
Every  member  canvass 

Benevolence  equals  25  per  cent,  current  expense 

168 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  PROGRAM 


Meetings 

Cooperation  with  other  churches  in  community 
Systematic  evangelism 

Parish 

Church  serves  all  racial  or  occupational  groups 

Religious  Education 

Sunday  school  held  entire  year 

Sunday  school  enrollment  equal  to  church  membership 
Attempt  to  bring  pupils  into  church 
Special  instruction  for  church  membership 
Teacher  training  or  normal  class 
Provision  for  leadership  training 

Program  of  Work 

Organized  activities  for  age-  and  sex-groups 
Cooperation  with  boards  and  denominational  agencies 
Program  adopted  annually,  25  per  cent,  of  membership  participating 
Church  reaching  entire  community 

It  had  been  hoped  that  the  study  of  these  twenty-six  counties 
would  reveal  a  sufficient  number  of  conspicuously  successful  churches 
to  warrant  their  plans  and  methods  being  described.  Unfortunately 
this  was  not  the  case.  The  facts  then  have  been  reported  as  they 
are.  In  a  separate  study  the  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious 
Surveys  investigated  the  most  successful  town  and  country  churches 
which  it  could  find  anywhere  in  America.1 

These  churches,  graded  by  the  above  standard,  more  than  doubled 
the  average  rating  with  a  record  of  85.5  per  cent.  On  the  basis  of 
the  actual  working  experience  of  these  successful  churches  a  new 
par  standard  of  fifty  points  was  worked  out.  This  new  standard 
summarizes  the  average  working  program  of  the  successful  rural 
church.  It  follows: 

New  Par  Standard 

Physical  Equipment 

1.  A  comfortable,  attractive  parsonage  with  modern  improvements, 

furnished  rent  free. 

2.  Auditorium  with  seating  capacity  adequate  to  maximum  attendance 

at  regular  services. 

3.  Pipe  organ  or  piano. 

4.  Space  for  social  and  recreational  purposes  fitted  with  movable  chairs 

and  a  platform,  and  large  enough  for  the  largest  crowds  in  the 
habit  of  assembling  there. 

5.  Separate  rooms  or  curtained  spaces  for  Sunday  school  classes  or 

departments. 

6.  Moving-picture  machine  or  stereopticon  facilities. 

7.  A  well-planned,  well-equipped  kitchen. 

8.  Sanitary  lavatories. 

1  See  “Tested  Methods  in  Town  and  Country  Churches”  and  “Churches 
of  Distinction  in  Town  and  Country.” 

169 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


9.  Parking  space  for  automobiles  or  horsesheds. 

10.  All  property  kept  in  good  repair  and  sightly  condition. 

11.  Bulletin  boards  for  display  of  church  announcements. 

12.  Playground. 

13.  Recreational  equipment — games,  volley  ball,  croquet,  quoits  (indoor 

and  outdoor)  and  the  like. 

Religious  and  Missionary  Education 

14.  Sunday  school  maintained  throughout  the  year. 

15.  Sunday  school  enrollment  at  least  equal  to  church  membership,  with 

an  average  attendance  of  at  least  two-thirds  of  its  membership. 

16.  Definite  and  regular  attempt  to  bring  pupils  into  church  member¬ 

ship,  and  specific  instruction  in  preparation  therefor. 

17.  Teacher  training  or  normal  class  regularly  provided. 

18.  Definite  provision  for  enlistment  and  training  of  leaders  for  church 

and  community  work  other  than  in  Sunday  school. 

19.  Communicant  classes  regularly  held  in  preparation  for  church  mem¬ 

bership. 

20.  Week-day  religious  instruction  provided. 

21.  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School  held. 

22.  School  of  Missions,  or  systematic  Mission  Study  class  regularly  held. 

23.  The  missionary  work  of  the  church  regularly  presented  from  the 

pulpit  and  in  the  Sunday  school. 

24.  At  least  one  representative  in  professional  Christian  service. 

Finance 

25.  The  church  budget,  including  both  local  expenses  and  benevolences, 

adopted  annually  by  the  congregation. 

26.  Every-member  canvass  for  weekly  offerings  made  annually  on  the 

basis  of  the  local  and  benevolent  budget  adopted;  all  church 
members  and  adherents  canvassed ;  envelope  system  used. 

27.  The  budget  of  benevolence  either  meeting  the  denominational  ap¬ 

portionment  in  full  or  equal  to  one-third  of  the  current  expense 
budget  (Interchurch  standard  25  per  cent.). 

28.  All  current  bills  paid  monthly. 

29.  A  systematic  plan  of  payments  on  principal  and  interest  of  debt  on 

the  church  property,  if  any. 

30.  Property  insured. 

Pastor 

31.  A  pastor  resident  within  the  bounds  of  the  community. 

32.  A  pastor  giving  full  time  to  the  work  of  this  church. 

33.  The  pastor  receiving  a  total  salary  of  at  least  $1,500  a  year  and  free 

use  of  house  (Interchurch  figure,  $1,200). 


Program 

34.  At  least  one  service  of  worship  every  Sunday. 

35.  Regular  mid-week  services. 

36.  Church  works  systematically  to  extend  its  parish  to  the  limits  of 

the  community. 

37.  Church  works  systematically  to  serve  all  occupational  classes  in  the 

community  and  all  racial  elements  which  do  not  have  their  own 
Protestant  churches. 

38.  A  definite  program  setting  goals  for  the  year’s  work  adopted  annu¬ 

ally  by  the  officers  and  congregation  and  held  steadily  before 
the  attention  of  the  church. 

39.  A  definite  assumption  of  responsibility  with  respect  to  some  part  of 

this  program  (as  in  38)  by  at  least  25  per  cent,  of  the  active 
members. 

40.  Systematic  evangelism  aimed  to  reach  the  entire  community  and 

every  class  in  the  community. 

170 


THE  RURAL  CHURCH  PROGRAM 


41.  A  minimum  net  membership  increase  of  10  per  cent,  each  year. 

42.  Community  service  a  definite  part  of  the  church’s  work,  including  a 

definite  program  of  community  cooperation  led  by  or  partici¬ 
pated  in  by  the  church. 

43.  Definite  organized  activities  for  all  the  various  age-  and  sex-groups 

in  the  congregation  and  community  (as  in  Young  People’s  So¬ 
ciety,  Men’s  Brotherhood,  Boy  Scouts,  or  similar  efforts). 

44.  A  systematic  and  cumulative  survey  of  the  parish  with  a  view  to 

determining  the  church  relationships  and  religious  needs  of  every 
family,  and  such  a  mapping  of  the  parish  as  will  show  the  rela¬ 
tionships  of  each  family  to  local  religious  institutions  together 
with  a  continuous  and  cumulative  study  of  the  social,  moral  and 
economic  forces  of  the  community,  with  a  view  to  constant 
adaptation  of  program  to  need. 


Cooperation 


45.  Cooperation  with  other  churches  of  the  community  in  a  definite  pro¬ 

gram  for  community  betterment. 

46.  Cooperation  with  state  and  county  interdenominational  religious 

agencies. 

47.  Cooperation  with  local  community  organizations. 

48.  Cooperation  with  county,  state,  or  national  welfare  agencies. 

49.  Cooperation  with  local  and  county  agricultural  agencies. 

50.  Cooperation  with  denominational  boards. 


Chapter  Summary 

The  average  country  church  has  not  adapted  its  program  to  the 
changed  conditions  of  rural  life. 

The  greatest  field  in  this  country  untouched  by  the  young  people’s 
movement  is  that  which  includes  the  villages  and  the  countryside. 

The  program  of  the  average  young  people’s  society  is  lifeless  and 
devoted  to  mere  routine. 

The  relationship  between  the  Sunday  school  and  the  young  peo¬ 
ple’s  society  in  the  average  congregation  has  never  been  thought  out. 
Yet  the  presence  of  a  young  people’s  society,  even  such  as  it  is, 
means  more  young  people,  increased  membership  and  more  life-work 
recruits. 

The  greatest  untouched  field  of  Christian  effort  in  rural  America 
is  the  work  for  boys  and  girls. 

Women’s  organizations  outnumber  organizations  of  any  other 
group  except  the  Sunday  schools. 

The  broader  the  program  of  the  church  the  larger  apparently  are 
its  spiritual  results. 


171 


INDEX 


I 


INDEX 


Administration,  church,  98 
Agriculture,  20,  21,  24,  25,  27,  28,  29, 
30,  31,  32,  33,  34 

Aid,  amount  of,  by  home  missions, 
115 

Alabama,  24 
Arizona,  34 
Arkansas,  30 

Baptist  church,  103 
Budget  system,  117 
Buildings,  church,  137-140 

California,  34 
Campbell,  John,  26 

Census  of  1920,  use  of  in  survey,  37 
Characteristics,  regional,  17 
Christian  church,  103 
Churches, 

and  foreign  groups  of  no  church, 

15 1 

and  migrant  workers,  157 
and  percentage  of  foreign  speaking 
members,  152 
and  their  schools,  126 
average  number  of  square  miles  in 
parishes,  87 

biggest  problem  is  making  efficient 
churches  upon  which  farming 
population  depends,  104 
classes  to  prepare  for  membership 
in,  130 

competition  among,  which  receive 
home  mission  aid,  110 
communities  without  protestant,  49, 
57 

corporate  responsibility  for  new 
Americans,  155 

country,  and  open-country  evangel¬ 
ization,  83 

distribution  of  aided,  by  denomina¬ 
tions,  107 
distribution  of,  44 
by  location,  78 
by  type  of  communities,  78 
regional,  45 

distribution  of  total  number  of 
country  church  members,  86 


Churches,  Continued 
economic  factor  and  number  of,  48 
equipment, 

functional  and  religious,  137 
large  and  small  buildings,  140 
summary,  147 

waste  versus  efficiency,  139 
evangelistic  returns  in  membership, 
119 

exceptional,  where  they  can  assimi¬ 
late  new  Americans  as  they 
come  into  community,  97 
finances,  141-146 
Christian  laborer  and  his  hire,  143 
expense  account,  143 
full-time  pastor,  145 
labor  that  is  in  vain,  144 
per  capita  giving,  general,  146 
rewards  of  system  and  method, 
142 

summary  of,  147 
financial  methods,  117 
frequency  of,  70 

general  status  of  church  enter¬ 
prise,  44 

growth  and  decline,  94 
cause  and  effect  in,  95 
general  situation,  97 
home  mission  aid  as  factor  in 
rural,  106 
membership,  57 

membership  in,  in  proportion  to 
population,  42 
membership  of  aided,  117 
methods  of  administration  and 
work,  98 

non-evangelical,  47 
non-resident  pastors,  42 
number  of,  greater  where  church, 
more  securely  established,  48 
one  hundred  average,  89 
parishes,  67 

proportion  of  ministers  to,  com¬ 
pared  with  those  to  popula¬ 
tion,  50 

proportion  of,  receiving  home  mis¬ 
sion  aid,  by  denominations,  108 
proportion  of  town  and  country 


175 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


population  in  membership  of 
protestant,  60 
ratio  of  population  to,  46 
receiving  home  mission  aid,  classi¬ 
fied  by  types  of  denominations, 
110 

relation  of,  to  problem  of  farm 
tenancy,  65 

relative  frequency  of,  and  ministers 
in  proportion  to  population,  63 
rural,  and  racial  groups,  148 
rural,  program, 

men  and  women’s  organizations, 
166 

results  of  a,  165 
summary,  171 
the  par  standard,  167,  169 
usually  in  old  conservative  style, 
160 

wanted:  a  policy,  163 
young  people’s  organizations,  161, 
163 

sensitive  to  current  shift  of  inter¬ 
est,  96 

sensitive  to  the  changes  in  popu¬ 
lation,  95 

and  to  composition  of  popula¬ 
tion,  96 

should  reach  farm  tenants,  67 
size  of,  and  effect  on  working  ef¬ 
ficiency,  101 

small,  are  not  going  concerns,  101 
town  church  has  advantage  over 
village  church  in  number  of 
country  people,  82 
town,  enroll  more  than  three  times 
as  many  country  members  as 
country  churches,  82 
types  of,  109 

use  of,  by  country  people,  79 
weakness  of,  in  reaching  country 
population,  62 

with  some  particular  dogma,  ex¬ 
ceed  average  in  parish  area, 
72 

Church  school,  see  “Sunday  schools” 
Circuit  system,  100 
Colonial  Region, 
agriculture  in,  21 
folk  depletion,  21 
increasing  racial  complexity,  22 
population,  20 
religious  life,  21 
social  life,  21 
states  comprising,  18 
Colorado,  31 


Communities, 
and  census  of  1920,  38 
and  distribution  of  population,  39 
average  size  of,  77 
evangelization  of,  59 
size  of,  70 

type  of,  and  distribution  of 
churches,  78 

typical  community  unit,  75 
variations  in  evangelization  by 
type  of,  81 

without  protestant  churches,  49,  57 
Community  Committee  on  Protestant 
Religious  Education,  133 
Community  evangelism,  factors  most 
significant  in  accompanying 
variations  in,  62 

Community  units,  frequency  and  size 
of,  47 
Competition, 

degree  of,  in  three  groups  of 
churches  receiving  home  mis¬ 
sion  aid,  111 

problem  of,  in  home  mission  aid, 
108 

where  it  centers,  114 
Congregational  church,  103 
Cooperative  organizations,  farmers, 
91,  92 

Corporate  responsibilities,  154 
County  Farm  Bureau,  133 
Country  churches  and  Sunday  schools, 
87 

Country  roads,  conditions  of,  and  ef¬ 
fect  on  parishes,  71 
County  Sunday  School  Association, 
133 

Cradle  Roll,  133 

Curriculum,  of  Sunday  schools,  129 

Daily  Vacation  Bible  School,  134 
Deductions,  national,  37 
Denominations,  differences  of  opin¬ 
ion  between,  47 
Division,  regional,  17 
and  the  census  of  1920,  38 
Douglass,  Dr.  H.  Paul,  84 

Economic  factor  and  number  of 
churches,  48 

Efficiency,  versus  waste,  in  church 
building,  139 

Enrollment,  Sunday  school,  85 
Equipment,  for  church  buildings,  137- 
140 

Evangelism,  102 


INDEX 


Evangelistic  returns,  119 
Evangelization, 

in  relation  to  number  of  churches 
and  pastors,  64 
of  community,  59 

unusual  racial  or  physical  or  eco¬ 
nomic  situations,  effect  on,  64 
variations  in,  by  type  of  commu¬ 
nity,  81 

Expense  account,  144 
Factors, 

in  relation  to  regional  division,  17 
inherent  in  religious  traditions  of 
various  sections,  47 
most  significant  in  accompanying 
variations  in  community  evan¬ 
gelism,  62 

Farm  laborer,  the,  157 
Farm  tenants  and  owners,  and 
church  membership,  66 
'  by  regions,  65 

Farmers’  cooperative  organizations, 
91,  92 

Foreign  language  church,  71 
Foreign  language  groups,  149 
Finances,  141-146 
Financial  methods,  117 
Financing,  local,  in  home  missions, 
116 

Georgia,  26 
Grants,  length  of,  115 

Hamlets,  and  distribution  of  popula¬ 
tion,  39 

Home  missions, 
amount  of  aid,  115 
chapter  summary,  122 
conclusions  as  to,  121 
extent  of  aid  of  rural,  107 
length  of  grants,  115 
local  financing,  116 
membership  of  aided  churches,  117 
problem  of  competition  in,  108 
the  field,  106 

where  competition  centers,  114 
Home  departments,  133 

Idaho,  31,  32,  34 
Illinois,  22 
Indiana,  22 
Iowa,  23 

Interchurch  World  Movement,  128 
Interdenominational  competition,  and 
effect  on  parishes,  71 


Inter-relations  of  town,  village,  ham¬ 
let  and  open  country,  75 

Kansas,  29 
Kentucky,  24,  26 
Knapp,  Dr.  Seaman,  25 

Latter  Day  Saints,  church  of  the,  58 
Lutheran  church,  103 

Maryland,  26 
Membership,  church,  57 
aggregate,  80 
classes  to  prepare  for,  130 
classified  as  resident  and  active,  42 
in  proportion  to  population,  42 
percentage  of  farm  tenants  and 
owners,  66 
by  regions,  65 

percentage  of  population  included 
in,  85 

proportion  of  population  in,  61,  63 
regional  and  national  averages,  59 
Men’s  organizations,  166 
Method,  reward  of,  in  finances,  142 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  72,  89, 
103 

Michigan,  22 
Middlewestern  Region, 

farms  of  intermediate  size,  23 
religious  life,  24 
settlement  of  the,  22 
states  comprising,  18 
Migrants,  156 
Ministers,  see  “Pastors” 

Missionary  motives,  111 
and  some  examples,  112 
Missouri,  30 
Montana,  27,  31,  33 
Mormon  church,  58 

Nebraska,  29 
“Neutral”  population,  75 
New  Americans,  the  church  and,  148- 
155 

New  England  states,  population  of, 

20 

New  Jersey,  20 
New  York,  20 
Nevada,  31,  33,  34 

Non-evangelical  churches,  member¬ 
ship  strength  of,  47,  58 
Non-Partisan  League,  148 
North  Carolina,  24,  26 
North  Dakota,  27 


177 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Northwestern  Region, 
agriculture,  28 
characteristics  of,  27 
farms  and  acreage,  28 
social,  economic  and  religious  life, 
29 

states  comprising,  18 

Ohio,  22 
Oklahoma,  30 

One  hundred  average  churches,  89 
“Open  country”  communities,  40 
“Open  country”  population,  76 
Oregon,  34 

Pacific  Region, 
agriculture,  34 
characteristics,  34,  35 
civic  influence  of,  35 
industries,  35 
states  comprising,  18 
Par  standard,  168 
the  new,  169 
Parishes, 

area  of,  enlarged,  in  cases  of 
churches  with  particular  dog¬ 
ma,  72 

average  number  of  square  miles  in, 
87 

effect  of  the  frequency  of  towns 
and  villages,  70 
sizes  of,  69 
Pastors, 

and  one  point,  two  point,  etc., 
service,  55 

average  annual  salary,  43 
distribution  of,  44,  52 
regional,  45 

effect  of  residence  of,  on  size  of 
parish,  71 

leadership  of  the,  99 
number  of  resident,  where  churches 
are  fewer  in  proportion  to  pop¬ 
ulation,  53 

proportion  of,  to  population  com¬ 
pared  with  those  to  churches, 
50 

regional  comparisons  of  number  of 
persons  per  church  and  per,  51 
relative  frequency  of  churches  and, 
in  proportion  to  population, 
63 

residence  of,  100 

salary,  143,  144 

service  of  the,  119 

shared  with  other  churches,  41 

the  full-time,  145 


Pastoral  leadership,  99 
Pastoral  service,  54,  119 
Pennsylvania,  20,  21 
Per  capita  giving,  146 
Population, 

average,  per  community,  77 
composition  of,  has  effect  on 
church,  96 

density  of,  and  number  of  churches, 
47 

distribution  of,  39 
farming,  churches  must  be  made 
efficient  for,  104 
figures  given  in  survey,  37 
in  proportion  to  membership  in 
town  and  country  churches, 
42 

in  various  regions  of  the  country, 
20,  22,  26,  27,  29,  30,  32,  33,  34 
“neutral,”  75 

percentage  of,  included  in  church 
membership,  85 

proportion  of,  enrolled  in  church 
membership,  63 

ratio  of  open  country,  within  com¬ 
munity  to  population  in  center, 
77 

proportion  of,  in  church  member¬ 
ship,  61 

proportion  of  ministers  to,  com¬ 
pared  with  those  to  churches, 
50 

ratio  of  churches  to,  46 
relative  frequency  of  churches  and 
pastors  in  proportion  to,  63 
shift  in,  and  effect  on  the  church, 
95 

town  and  country,  in  proportion 
of  membership  in  protestant 
churches,  60 

towns,  hamlets,  villages  and  open 
country  in,  75 

weakness  of  church  in  reaching 
country,  62 
Prairie  Region, 
agriculture,  29 
characteristics,  29 
states  comprising,  18 
Presbyterian  church,  72,  103 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  68,  103 

Racial  groups,  and  the  rural  church, 
148 

Range  Region, 
agriculture,  32 
characteristics,  32 
general  farm  isolation,  33 


178 


INDEX 


Range  Region,  Continued 
high  quality  of  population,  33 
religious  life,  34 
states  comprising,  18 
Reformed  church,  72,  103 
Regional  comparison  of  number  of 
persons  per  church  and  per 
minister,  51 

Regional  characteristics,  17 
Regional  divisions,  differences  in,  17 
Regions,  see  specific  names 
Religious  life,  in  different  regions  of 
country,  24,  26,  27,  29,  31,  34 
Religious  situation,  the,  41 
Roman  Catholic  church,  58,  68,  151 
Rural  churches,  program,  160 

Salary, 

average  annual,  of  pastors,  43 
pastor’s,  143,  144 

Scandinavian  Baptist  church,  150 
South  Carolina,  24,  26 
South  Dakota,  27 
Southern  Baptist  church,  72 
Southern  Mountain  Region, 
population  and  acreage,  26 
problem  of  retardation,  27 
religious  life,  27 
states  comprising,  18 
Southern  Region, 
agriculture,  25 
characteristics  of,  24 
education,  25 

extensive  industrial  development, 
24 

living  conditions,  26 
religious  life,  26 
social  and  civic  policy,  26 
states  comprising,  18 
Southwestern  Region, 
agriculture,  30 
characteristics,  30 
home  conditions,  31 
population,  31 
religious  life,  31 
states  comprising,  18 
tenantry,  30 
Standards, 

for  Sunday  schools,  132 
the  new  par,  169 
the  par,  168 

States,  new  blood  in  old,  148 
Sunday  schools,  43 
ambitions  for,  132 
and  their  churches,  126 
appeal  to  purely  farm  population, 
131 


Sunday  Schools,  Continued 
chapter  summary,  135 
classes  in,  to  prepare  for  church 
membership,  130 
curriculum,  129 

distribution  of  total  number  of 
country  Sunday  school  mem¬ 
bers,  87 
enrollment,  85 
in  town  and  country,  125 
religious  education  in,  123 
standards  for,  132 
teachers,  127 
the  “three  types”  of,  124 
Survey,  the  present, 
census  of  1920  and  its  use  in,  37 
facts  on  religious  situation,  37 
population  figures,  37 
Swedish  Baptist  churches,  72 
System,  reward  of,  in  finances,  142 

Teachers,  127 
Tenants,  156 
Tennessee,  24,  26 
Texas,  30 

“Three  types”  of  Sunday  schools,  124 
Town  church,  and  size  of  parish,  87 
Towns,  109 

and  distribution  of  population,  39 
average  number  of  churches,  80 
effect  on  parishes  of  frequency  of, 
70 

United  States  Religious  Census  of 
1916,  58 
Utah,  31,  32 

Vermont,  20 

Village  church,  and  size  of  parish,  88 
Villages,  109 

and  distribution  of  population,  39 
average  number  of  churches,  80 
effect  on  parishes  of  frequency  of, 
70 

Virginia,  26 
Washington,  34 

Waste,  versus  efficiency,  in  church 
building,  139 

Wilson,  Dr.  Warren  H.,  17,  134 
Wisconsin,  22 

Women’s  organizations,  166 
Work,  church,  98 
Workers,  migrant,  157 
Wyoming,  31,  33 

Young  people’s  organizations,  161, 163 


179 


' 


5 


' 


RURAL  CHURCH  STUDIES 


Published  by  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY,  New  York 

FOR 

COMMITTEE  ON  SOCIAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  SURVEYS 

370  SEVENTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  SERIES.  12  VOLUMES 
Regional  Studies,  Uniform  with  This  Volume 

Made  Under  the  Direction  of  Edmund  deS.  Brunner 


(1)  Church  and  Community 
Survey  of  Salem  County, 

N.  J .  Ready 

(2)  Church  and  Community 
Survey  of  Pend  Oreille 
County,  Washington  ....  Ready 

(3)  Church  and  Community 

Survey  of  Sedgwick 
County,  Kansas  .  Ready 

(4)  Church  Life  in  the  Rural 

South  .  Ready 

(5)  The  Old  and  New  Im¬ 

migrant  on  the  Land. . . .  Ready 

(6)  Rural  Church  Life  in  the 

Middle  West .  Ready 


(7)  The  Country  Church  in 

Colonial  Counties  ....  Ready 

(8)  Irrigation  and  Religion, 

a  study  of  two  pros¬ 
per  ous  California 
Counties  .  Ready 

(9)  The  Church  on  the 

Changing  Frontier  . . .  Ready 

(10)  The  Country  Church  in 

Industrial  Zones  .  Ready 

(11)  The  Town  and  Country 

Church  in  the  United 
States  .  Ready 

(12)  Graphic  and  Statistical 

Summary .  Forthcoming 


CHURCHES  OF  DISTINCTION  IN  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY,  Edited  by  Edmund  deS.  Brunner 

Illustrated ,  12  moy  Net  $1.50 

TESTED  METHODS  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 
CHURCHES,  by  Edmund  deS.  Brunner 

12 moy  Net  $1.25 


Companion  volumes,  based  upon  surveys  of  forty  of  the  most  successful 
churches  in  rural  America.  The  first  volume  tells  the  life-stories  of 
fourteen  of  these  churches;  the  second  volume  treats  topically  the 
methods  to  which  the  forty  churches  owe  their  success. 


Princeton 


leological  Seminary  Libraries 


1012  01233  9364 


Date  Due 

Ap  28 

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MORSE 

Town  and  conntry 
church  in  the  U.S 


D  -  Admin. 


